Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates National Leadership in Making Child Care More Affordable and Accessible
Massachusetts only state to continue funding child care
stabilization grants
at same level federal government did
LOWELL – Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration,
state legislators, local officials and providers highlighted Massachusetts’
national leadership when it comes to making child care more affordable and
accessible. In particular, Massachusetts is the only state in the nation to
continue funding the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) stabilization grants
for providers at the same level as the federal government.
The Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget signed by Governor Healey sustains the state’s commitment
of $475 million for this program and makes it permanent. Last year, the C3
program contributed to a 7 percent increase in child care programs, adding more
than 10,600 child care slots across the state.
Governor Maura Healey, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler,
Lowell Mayor Dan Rourke, Lowell City Manager Tom Golden, State Representative
Vanna Howard, State Representative Rodney Elliott, House Majority Leader Alice
Peisch, Education Committee Co-Chair Representative Denise Garlick and other
local officials and community members marked this milestone at a Head Start
preschool classroom at the Community Teamwork in Lowell. C3 supports early
education and care providers’ day-to-day operational costs, including
compensation that enables programs to better recruit and retain their staff
while mitigating increased costs for families. This
critical funding effectively helped to stabilize the state’s child care system, enabling early education programs to remain
open, and is also supporting system-wide growth through investments in
workforce, quality and affordability.
“Massachusetts is the number one state for women, for having
a baby and for raising a family. That’s in large part due to our commitment to
making the strongest child care and early education investments in the
country,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Our nation-leading efforts have
added thousands of new child care slots across the state, and we’re continuing
to partner with the Legislature to make child care more affordable and support
our hardworking providers.”
“The C3 program has been a huge success in keeping child
care programs open, adding more seats, increasing educator salaries and
reducing costs for families. Massachusetts is proud to be leading the way by
sustaining this vital program,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
“We know that child care is foundational to our economy and key to our
competitiveness, and want to make sure that employers, investors and workers
alike know that Massachusetts provides the best access to affordable child
care.”
Thanks to strong state investment, the early education and
child care system in Massachusetts has rebounded and now exceeds pre-pandemic
licensed capacity by 7,100 child care spaces, representing a total increase of
approximately 37,000 seats compared to the pandemic low in the Spring of
2021.
“This summer, the Healey-Driscoll administration held 14
in-person and virtual listening sessions across Massachusetts. One thing we
consistently heard from early education and care programs was how crucial C3
grants are,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “The
pandemic era stabilization grants for the child care sector were a first and
clearly demonstrated how critical this type of funding is to stabilize, heal,
and transform the early education and care system. By continuing these grants
on a permanent basis with full state funding, Massachusetts continues to lead
the nation.”
“One of the most important levers to address the market
failure leading to high child care costs and low educator wages has been the C3
program. Under Governor Healey’s leadership, and in partnership with the
Legislature, C3 remains a critical funding mechanism for the early
education and care sector that provides ongoing operational resources to
programs,” said Early Education and Care
Commissioner Amy Kershaw. “With the continuation of this program, the state
is investing in sustained and expanded capacity to serve working families and
workforce and program quality and is building a system that is more accessible
and affordable for all families.”
In addition to funding C3 at $475 million, the FY25 budget
prioritizes early education and child care in a number of other ways,
including:
- $872
million for child care financial assistance to support low- and
moderate-income families, including families receiving services or
supports from DTA and DCF, as well as staff working in early education and
care programs.
- $85
million for reimbursements for early education and care providers who
accept state child care financial assistance, known as rates, $20 million
over FY24 for new rate increases this year to better cover the cost of providing care. This is a $20
million increase over FY24.
- $22.5
million for the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) to
maintain FY24 expanded universal access to high-quality preschool, with a
focus on gateway cities and rural communities.
- $18.5
million for supplemental grants to Head Start programs.
Earlier this year, recognizing the essential role child care
plays in supporting the state’s economy and competitiveness, Governor Healey
signed an executive order directing all state agencies to help make child care
more affordable and creating an Early Education and Child Care Task Force. The
task force includes all cabinet Secretaries, who engages with industry and
business leaders, organized labor, and other experts. They recently held a series of listening sessions across the state to
gather input to help inform the administration’s approach to affordable child
care.
"Along with increasing our ability to fairly compensate
teachers and staff, C3 grants and other state supplemental funding have enabled
us to meet the increasing needs of our children and families. The soon to be open, Rita
O'Brien-Dee Center for Behavioral Health and Development, is one of our responses to the
great challenge of mental health for our children, staff and families and
continued funding through C3 grants is helping us to provide this much needed
programming for our community," said Karen Frederick, Community
Teamwork CEO. "We
are grateful to Governor Healey and her Administration for taking a leadership role in ensuring this
critical funding continues."
“Affordable and accessible early education and care is core
to being a competitive Commonwealth, and making C3 grants permanent is a
monumental step forward for Massachusetts kids and families," said Senate
President Karen E. Spilka. "Codifying C3 grants means keeping costs
down for families, keeping doors open for providers, and helping educators get
paid what they deserve. I'm proud the Senate led the charge to include this in
our final budget, and grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for
swiftly getting these dollars to providers."
“I'm proud of the House's longstanding commitment to early
education and care in the Commonwealth," said House Speaker Ronald J.
Mariano. "The historic investments we've made in this year's budget
ensure our early education workforce is supported, and that children and
families have greater access to affordable, high-quality programming across the
state. Thank you to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for its ongoing
partnership in these efforts.”
“Massachusetts has always been at the forefront of championing initiatives that improve the lives of our residents, and the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants are a testament to that commitment,” said Lowell Mayor Daniel P. Rourke. “By prioritizing affordable and accessible childcare, we are not only investing in our children's future but also supporting the hard-working families who are the backbone of our communities. These grants reflect our shared values and our unwavering dedication to ensuring that every child in Lowell and Massachusetts has the opportunity to thrive.”
“Affordable child care is not just a family issue—it's an economic imperative,” Lowell City Manager Tom Golden. “In Lowell, we see firsthand the difference that the C3 grants have made for our child care centers and families. We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for leading on this issue and understanding the critical role child care plays in communities. This investment is a win for parents, providers, and employers in Lowell and across Massachusetts.”
