MASSACHUSETTS BUSINESS COALITION LAUNCHES TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES IN EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION

 MASSACHUSETTS BUSINESS COALITION LAUNCHES TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES IN EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION

Recognizing A Strong Early Childhood System Is Fundamental To A More Competitive Workforce, Massachusetts Companies Are Invited To Join The Growing Coalition

 

BOSTON, MA, February 9, 2021 – Today, 70 Massachusetts CEOs and business leaders announced the launch of the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education, a business coalition focused on early child care and education. Leading the coalition as Co-Chairs are: Jon Bernstein, Regional President of Boston for PNC Bank; Roger Crandall, Chairman, President, and CEO of MassMutual; Linda Henry, CEO of Boston Globe Media Partners; Bridget Long, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and Bob Rivers, CEO and Chair of the Board of Eastern Bank.

 

Raising awareness about the need for a more robust and sustainable network of early child care and education has become increasingly urgent due to the devastating financial impacts caused by COVID-19 on an already fragile system. Without greater funding, high-quality child care, already too limited, runs the risk of becoming more so, and burdening more women and people of color with additional roadblocks to advancing their careers. In addition, lack of access to early child care and education creates learning and developmental gaps, even before kindergarten, that are harder to overcome as a child grows up, and often disproportionately puts the most vulnerable children as well as children of color at greater risk.

 

The coalition will: advocate for policies and programs that make early child care and education more readily available to Massachusetts workers; identify opportunities to improve program access, affordability and quality; collaborate around employer best practices for supporting early childhood needs; and focus on advancing equitable child care solutions.

 

The research indicates a compelling need and opportunity in each of these areas:

 

Employer concerns

• 91% of Massachusetts employers surveyed in the Fall of 2020 by a group of Massachusetts business associations report significant concern about child care and school issues adversely impacting employee engagement, attendance and productivity.
• 76% of employers also are deeply concerned about the disproportionate impact of these issues on women in the workplace.

• A recent statewide survey by Beacon Research of nearly 600 families found that 79% of parents are concerned they will not be able to work without formal child care arrangements and 76% indicate the quality of their work will suffer due to child care challenges.

 

Racial and gender inequities

• Women of color historically represent a disproportionate share of women in the labor market, and consequently they are, on average, more challenged by the growing instability of the child care sector.
• Most of the 6,700 early childhood programs struggling to operate in Massachusetts today are small businesses, and the vast majority are women-owned and women-led.

 

Working families

• Massachusetts families already shoulder the burden of the most expensive child care, on average, in the nation. The annual cost of center-based child care for a family with both an infant and a four-year-old is $34,381 in Massachusetts, making the Commonwealth the least affordable state for families of infants or toddlers in center-based care.
• An increasing percentage of families with young children (71%) have all parents in the workforce, yet the lack of available, affordable and stable early childhood care limits professional opportunity and personal income.

Children

• High-quality early childhood education leads to phenomenal academic and lifetime gains, such as vastly improved high school graduation rates (four times more likely to graduate) and college attendance rates (twice as likely to attend).
• Since 80% of brain development occurs during a child’s first three years, and 90% by age five, missed opportunities during the earliest years of a child’s life have significant impact.

 

Fragile system

• Since COVID-19, nearly 20% of programs in Massachusetts have not reopened and those that are operating are struggling with sustainability due to significant drops in enrollment and attendance.
• This follows a 25% decline in programs during the decade before the pandemic, according to the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.

 

“Quality child care and early learning programs are fundamental to the success of our local economy,” said Jon Bernstein, Coalition Co-Chair and Regional President of Boston for PNC Bank. “All children deserve high-quality early learning experiences that prepare them for school and will have a lifelong positive impact. This is why, for 16 years, PNC has committed its resources to high-quality early childhood education; with a mission to impact school readiness and contribute to stronger, smarter and healthier children, families and communities.”

 

“Investing in early childhood education provides a massive return on investment and generates societal and economic benefits for years to come,” said Roger Crandall, Coalition Co-Chair and Chairman, President and CEO of MassMutual. “Even more importantly, it addresses a fundamental inequality in our current system. By making sure all young children have access to quality early childhood education, we can stop achievement gaps before they start, while also having positive effects throughout the economy.”    

 

“The deficiencies and inequalities of the early childhood education sector fall too harshly along the lines of gender and race,” said Linda Henry, Coalition Co-Chair and CEO of Boston Globe Media Partners. “Women, and increasingly women of color, represent almost 100% of the early childhood education workforce. Women still are far more likely than men to bear responsibility for child care within their family, and four times as many women as men left the U.S. Labor Market in September 2020 alone, due, in part, to shouldering an outsized share of child care responsibilities. This is detrimental to the healthy development of our children and economy, and it’s a challenge we look to solve.”

 

“We know children who receive high-quality early childhood education reap the benefits into adulthood and throughout life,” said Bridget Long, Coalition Co-Chair and Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “This is because those benefits are delivered at the most critical stages of brain development. For the sake of our youngest learners and their families, as well as the future of the Commonwealth, we must ensure access to high-quality early childhood education for all.”

 

“The business community has a unique opportunity to help lead in an area that betters the lives of children, their parents and families, and the educators who care for them, with obvious benefits to our employees and companies,” said Bob Rivers, Coalition Co-Chair and CEO and Chair of the Board of Eastern Bank. “This is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing – it’s good business to invest in a stronger workforce and stronger communities. It’s long overdue for the local business community to step up and drive meaningful change in early childhood, and we thank all the businesses that already have committed to this important work and ask others to join with us.”

 

For media inquiries or to join the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education, contact Tom Weber, Executive Director, at t.weber@easternbank.com, or visit the coalition website (Website URL: http://www.maroundtable.com/MBCECE/main.html).

 

Business coalition members currently include:

 

 

Abt Associates

Arlington Advisory Partners

BayCoast Bank

Berkshire Bank & Berkshire Bank Foundation

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

BMC Health System

Boston Celtics & Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation

Boston Children's Hospital

Boston Globe Media Partners

Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company

Cape Cod Five

Charlesbank Capital Partners

Colette Phillips Communication, Inc.

Comcast

Cove Hill Partners

Dedham Institution For Savings

Dell Technologies

Drew Company

Eastern Bank

Emerson College

Ernst & Young

ForFuturing

GBH

General Dynamics Mission Systems

Greylock Federal Credit Union

HarborOne Bank

Harvard Graduate School of Education
Inkhouse

JLL

KPMG LLP

Leader Bank

Liberty Mutual

Locke Lord LLP

M&T Bank

Manulife

Mass General Brigham

MassMutual

MFS Investment Management

MJM Advisory Services

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries

National Grid

Needham Bank

New Bedford Economic Development Council

Nutter

PeoplesBank

PNC Bank

PR Restaurants LLC

Precision Value and Health

Prior Consulting

Putnam Investments

PwC

Rapid 7

Red Sox Foundation

RSM

Sanofi Genzyme

Seamen's Bank

South Shore Bank

Specialized Healthcare

State Street Corporation

Synlogic

The Berman Company

The Castle Group

The Davis Companies

Tufts Health Plan

Unistress Corporation

University of Massachusetts

Verizon

Waters Corporation

 

The coalition also is collaborating with a number of Massachusetts business associations.

 

MAYOR WALSH PROPOSES 42% INCREASE IN DEVELOPMENT LINKAGE FEES TO SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WORKFORCE TRAINING

 

MAYOR WALSH PROPOSES 42% INCREASE IN DEVELOPMENT LINKAGE FEES TO SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WORKFORCE TRAINING

BOSTON - Tuesday, February 9, 2021 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced a 42 percent increase in the Linkage fees collected by large scale commercial developments over 100,000 square feet in Boston to support the creation of affordable housing and workforce development programs. The increased rate of $15.39 per square foot, of which $13.00 will be dedicated to affordable housing and $2.39 will be dedicated to workforce training, will be brought to the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board for approval on Thursday, February 11.  "It is critical that we are leveraging Boston's development market to maximize funding for affordable housing and workforce training, while balancing the economic reality of COVID-19," said Mayor Walsh. "By increasing Linkage requirements we will substantially increase revenue streams to fund the affordable housing and workforce training programs that will help our residents recover and thrive in a post-COVID economy."   Boston's Linkage program was created in 1986 to leverage funding for affordable housing and workforce training through payments by large-scale commercial real estate development The proposed increase follows the passage of legislation last month, originally introduced by Mayor Walsh as a Home Rule Petition, to give Boston more flexibility in adjusting Linkage fees. Previously, the BPDA was only allowed to adjust Linkage every three years based on inflation. The new law allows Boston to adjust the required payment and program guidelines, allowing Linkage to be more closely aligned with the market and fund affordable housing and workforce development programs. The new rate was determined based on several years of feasibility assessments, conversations with developers and advocates, and the current economic climate. The $15.39 per square foot marks a 42 percent increase from the current Linkage rate of $10.81 per square foot, of which $9.03 is dedicated to affordable housing and $1.78 is dedicated to workforce development.  "The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened long-standing housing and income inequities and the Mayor's action will give us additional resources to ensure that the City's recovery from this crisis is more equitable and inclusive," said Emilio Dorcely, CEO of Urban Edge, a community development corporation serving Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. "We thank Mayor Walsh for taking decisive action to increase the linkage fee to provide more funding for affordable housing and job training, now that the Legislature has authorized the City of Boston to shape its own development policy."  "The Job Training Alliance is thrilled that the Mayor is taking immediate action to increase job linkage fees after the passage of the Home Rule Petition," said Amy Nishman, Senior Vice President of Strategy for JVS Boston. "With so many Bostonians out of work, the City needs major investment in job training so communities that have been devastated by the pandemic can access career-ladder jobs in industries that are hiring." The funds collected through Linkage are administered by the Neighborhood Housing Trust through the Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) and the Neighborhood Jobs Trust through the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development. Since 2014, the Linkage program has generated over $80 million to support affordable housing and job training from new development. Linkage provides industry-recognized job training to over 2,000 Boston residents annually. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Neighborhood Jobs Trust has dedicated $2.4 million to emergency supports for workforce and education programs, as well as specialized job training for workers preparing to enter the IT/tech and healthcare industries Since its inception in 1986, Linkage has generated more than $200 million for affordable housing and workforce training. In 2020 alone, new development approved by BPDA is expected to generate over $43.2 million in Linkage fees to support affordable housing, and over $8.5 million in Linkage fees to support job training programs. This proposed increase will allow the BPDA and City of Boston to further leverage development to increase these funding streams. Following a recommendation for approval by the BPDA Board, the increase must be approved by the Boston Zoning Commission and signed by the Mayor prior to becoming effective. The BPDA and DND are committed to future reviews of Linkage fees following Boston's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ceremonial Signing of the Partnerships for Growth Economic Development Bill (Video now)

 

Watch the Ceremonial Signing of the Partnerships for Growth Economic Development Bill

Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, legislators, and local officials will celebrate the ceremonial signing of H.5250, An Act enabling partnerships for growth. The virtual event will take place Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 10:00 AM.

2022麻州州長選舉提前開打 前麻州參議員Ben Downing宣佈參選

 

Ben Downing宣佈參選麻州州長。(圖片取自網路)

             (Boston Orange編譯)波士頓人正忙著看還有誰會出來參選波士頓市長之際，今(8)日卻有人放長線，宣佈2022年參選州長了。

曾任麻州參議員，現年39歲的Ben Downing說，他要打造一個更公平，更強壯的麻州。

              2021年是市級選舉年，州長選舉是明年，2022年的事。不過這年代，似乎凡事都得搶先，參選公職也講究年紀要輕(總統除外)。Ben Downing 在2016年1月25日宣佈不再競選第六度連任，離開政壇。現在2021年2月8日，打算重返政壇，正式宣佈參選州長，成為了下屆州長選舉的第一位候選人。

              原籍Pittsfield的Ben Downing，之前在麻州參議員席位上任職10年，卸任後，他擔任波士頓再生能源公司Nexamp的副總裁，和太太Micaelah Morrill，以及2名年紀還小的兒子住在東波士頓。

              雖然Downing是第一個正式宣布參選州長的人，但他卻並不是民主黨中第一個表示對此職位有興趣的人。去年12月，哈佛大學政治學教授兼作家Danielle Allen就說，她在探查參選州長的可能性。如果她宣佈參選，她將是麻州大黨歷史中第一個出來參選州長的黑人女性。

              如果全美最受歡迎州長之一的查理貝克(Charlie Baker)決定不競選第三度連任，民主黨的初選一定會吸引出更多候選人。民主黨幹部早就認為麻州總檢察官奚莉(Maura Healey)會是名很有力的候選人，而且很可能這次會參選。

              雖然Downing有當選，並在議會服務逾十年的經驗，但他仍將面對挑戰。他必須籌募數以百萬元計的款項，到全州各地向選民介紹他自己，尤其是波士頓都會區等那些西部麻州以外的地區。更不要說，新冠病毒疫情還未消散。

              Downing在2013年時曾經考慮過參選聯邦參議員，但最後沒有行動，但他說自己現在準備好了，不論還有誰會跳入選戰，他都要參選州長，而且要贏。

              他打算舉行一個又一個的Zoom會議，然後逐戶拍門，拜訪一個又一個的市鎮民主黨委員會，一家又一家咖啡廳的組織活動，贏取選民。

              Downing表示他計畫把自己形容為激進，獨立的領導者，將優先解決諸如經濟，族裔正義，氣候變化，托兒服務，以及可負擔的高等教育，交通方面的投資等問題。

              他也打算在初選時，然後在大選時直接挑戰查理貝克的工作記錄。他說查理貝克沒有運用他可觀的政治資本來使麻州更有彈性，或者幫助那些力量更弱的居民。

              Downing是家中長子。他那已辭世的父親是Berkshire地區檢察官Gerard Downing。2003年時，他從普域敦斯(Providence)學院畢業，2008年在獲得塔芙茨(Tufts)大學的市區及環境政策和計畫碩士，之後未署名麻州國會議員工作。

              Downing表示，促使他參選州長的原因是他在畢肯丘(Beacon Hill)上觀察到，在處理麻州家庭所面對挑戰上的那種缺乏急迫感。

              他指出，他也看到畢肯丘對新冠病讀暴露出經濟及族裔正義，平等等議題，不夠關注。

              Downing 的競選團隊，已經有不少人才，包括Wilnelia Rivera和她的公司將主管競選的策略與營運。2018年，在Ayanna Pressley打敗長年在位的卡普阿諾(Michael Capuano)的那場選戰中，Rivera就是普利斯萊的競選總策畫。

波士頓僑教中心牛年揮毫迎新春

 

波士頓經文處處長孫儉元致詞。

       (波士頓僑教中心)波士頓華僑文教服務中心於2月6日舉辦「揮毫迎新春」活動，邀請波士頓中華書法會會長黃周麗桃及林浩中等書法行家現場書寫春聯；民俗文化種子教師林賢琪也特地以牛年為主題製作拓印版畫，展示農曆年節習俗及傳統文化之美。僑教中心將提供蔡英文總統及賴清德副總統聯名落款的「牛轉乾坤」春聯，以及本次活動成品予僑胞免費索取，分享年節歡愉氣氛。

           本次活動由駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處處長孫儉元主持，孫處長開場致詞時表示，農曆新年兼具團圓及迎新送舊的雙重意涵，大家在鼠年飽受疫情所擾，希望透過送鼠迎牛，能將陰霾一掃而空。此外，僑胞長居海外，受到文化及生活作息的限制，過年的氛圍不如在國內，所以希望透過本次活動，協助大家重溫過年的溫馨愉快。

波士頓經文處處長孫儉元(右)和波士頓僑務委員蔣宗壬揮毫。

               受到新冠肺炎疫情影響，今年的活動取消了讓小朋友體驗書寫春聯的安排；另為遵守牛頓市政府室內群聚人數的限制，僅邀請若干僑領及貴賓出席，並在僑教中心官方臉書全程直播。參加的孫儉元夫婦、波士頓僑教中心主任潘昭榮，牛頓高地社區發展協會主任

John Rice、僑務委員梅錫銳、蔣宗壬及紐英崙中華公所主席鄭慧民都分別揮毫，以向僑胞賀歲。(圖與文:波士頓僑教中心提供)

John Rice 致詞。

麻州州長疫情匯報 2/8 (Video)

 

波士頓市要幫助第一代購屋者 最高撥款5000元

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES NEW FUNDING TO SUPPORT FIRST-GENERATION HOMEBUYERS

 Now Providing up to $5,000 through a 2:1 Matching Program

BOSTON - Monday, February 8, 2021 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the City of Boston is providing new homebuyers up to $5,000 through a partnership with Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance's (MAHA) First-Generation Homebuyer Program. The program assists income-eligible first-generation homebuyers in purchasing a home in Boston for the first time with a 2:1 matching program.

"Now more than ever, in Boston, we must take steps to create equitable opportunities and access to resources for all Bostonians. Improving pathways to homeownership can help address disparities in wealth, making this a vital part of our equity work," said Mayor Walsh. "I'm proud to increase the grant funding available through a strategic partnership with MAHA's First-Generation Homebuyer Program to assist more families in purchasing their first homes in our city."

Funding for this program has been redirected from the Boston Police Department's overtime budget to the Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), which was announced by Mayor Walsh last June in an effort to make a significant investment in equity and inclusion across the City. The DND dedicated $250,000 of the police overtime budget in addition to $75,000, making $325,000 in funding available to help increase homeownership rates in the city among first-generation buyers, immigrants, and buyers of color.

"First-generation buyers often don't have enough savings, or family members with the financial resources to tap, when trying to buy a home, said Symone Crawford, Director of Homeownership Education at the Dorchester-based MAHA. "This investment is critical in helping to level the playing field for those residents to become homeowners."

To be eligible for the $5,000 grant in the City of Boston, first-generation homebuyers must earn below 100 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and contribute $2,500 of their own money. The funds can be used toward down payment assistance and/or closing costs.

The City of Boston Home Center has added funds to the existing First-Generation Program developed by MAHA with support from the MIDAS Collaborative as well as funding from Boston Children's Hospital and the Wells Fargo Foundation.

"When purchasing a home, the financial questions are the most intimidating," said Dafany Pressat, a MAHA First Generation program graduate and Mattapan homebuyer. "The First Gen program gives first-generation homebuyers something to look forward to while attending home buying classes where the end goal is purchasing a home. I felt a lot more secure knowing that if we do our part by saving the $2,500, we will get rewarded for it with the money from this program. Enhancing the funding for this program for others like me to benefit from is truly great news."

Homebuyers who are the first generation in their families to buy a home often have a difficult time accruing the down payment and closing costs necessary to purchase a home, according to a study by the Urban Institute. Funds are not available from families for financial assistance often because the buyer's parents don't own a home and therefore cannot leverage the home's equity to provide financial aid to their children.

"We know first-generation homebuyers are less likely to become homeowners than those in similarly situated households who grew up with parents who are homeowners," said Sheila Dillon, Chief of Housing and Director of Neighborhood Development. "These funds will help make homeownership possible to those who will benefit for generations to come and help us close the gap on homeownership in Boston."

"We launched our first-generation homebuyer matched-savings program last year and already residents have saved over $187,000 for their first home," said Symone Crawford, Director of Homeownership Education at MAHA. "We are thrilled to be partnering with Mayor Walsh and his housing team to close the racial homeownership gap."

One hundred and fifty homebuyers are currently enrolled in the program, and fourteen have purchased homes so far. Of the 150 participants, 73 percent are Black and 18 percent are Latinx. Forty percent of participants are households headed by a woman, and one-third are households that identify as immigrants.

One of the City's goals, identified in Mayor Walsh's Housing A Changing City: Boston 2030 plan, is to increase homeownership rates for people of color, low- and moderate-income buyers, immigrants, and first-generation buyers. In 2017, only five percent of home purchase mortgage applicants were Black residents. Overall, homeownership rates for Black and Latino residents were 30 percent and 16 percent lower, respectively, compared to white residents according to American Community Survey data. The First-Generation Program aims to further the goal of increasing homeownership among communities of color and immigrants.

MAHA today also issued a 12-point challenge to close the racial homeownership gap through its' Homeownership Justice Vision. The challenge includes tripling lending in the state's most affordable mortgage program, a $100 million investment for first-generation homebuyers as well as new affordable homeownership opportunities throughout the state.

To find out more about the First Generation Homebuyer Program, go to https://mahahome.org/STASH.