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星期五, 5月 02, 2025
波士頓市撥款20萬元加強支持LGBQ+社區
星期四, 5月 01, 2025
麻州250慶祝全國學徒日
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| 學徒們在會場合影。 (周菊子攝) |
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| 麻州副州長 Kim Driscoll，IBEW企業經理Louis J. Antonellis， 勞工及勞動力廳長Lauren Jones。 (周菊子攝) |
這是麻州為慶祝、迎接麻州創立250週年的活動之一。麻州副州長Kim
Driscoll和勞工與勞動力發展廳長Lauren
Jones都特地出席，致詞鼓勵。
學徒計畫在麻州有悠久歷史，其核心優勢是「邊學邊賺」，結合課堂培訓與有老師指導的在職實習，為人提供某一行業實在的就業途徑，而且隨著時代演進，堤共培訓與實習的行業，早已從傳統的建築業，擴展到醫療保健、生命科學、早期兒童教育、製造業、潔淨能源和資訊科技
(IT)等高成長產業，促進了麻州勞動力多元化，也培養了許多高技能勞工、創造了經濟機會。
麻州政府把學徒制當作增加麻州競爭力的一項關鍵策略，從2023年1月以來，麻州學徒標準處
(Division of Apprentice Standards) 取得許多成就：
- 利用州和聯邦資金發放了超過1000萬美元學徒補助金。
- 在傳統和新增行業中，註冊了9309名新學徒，預計年底將突破1萬人。
- 在新增行業中註冊了1813名新學徒。
- 新增了203個學徒計畫。
- 將註冊學徒稅收抵免
(Registered Apprenticeship Tax Credit, RATC) 擴大到適用於潔淨能源等行業，並批准了48萬美元的雇主稅收抵免，受惠雇主僱用了100名學徒，是往年的兩倍多。
- 重新設立了學徒委員會
(Apprenticeship Council)。
麻州政府表示，擴辦學徒制度，縮小了求職者所具有能力和雇主需求之間的差距，為麻州居民增加了就業機會，也改變了結訓學徒們的未來人生。
麻州獲選為最適合職業母親州
(Boston Orange 摘譯) 麻州宣佈，在WalletHub所做的「全美最適合職業媽媽州」調查中，麻州名列第一。
這項排名調查，評分標準包括托兒服務品質、育嬰假政策和工作與生活平衡等 17 項指標。麻州在總排名中居首，也在托兒系統和工作與生活平衡方面名列第一。
麻州州長奚莉（Maura Healey）和副州長Kim Driscoll引以為傲的表示，這證明麻州政府在支持職業家庭、致力改善托兒服務和帶薪家庭假計畫等方面所做的努力，成績很好。他們強調了讓托兒服務更實惠和方便的重要性。
麻州目前為符合條件的員工提供最長達 26 週的帶薪家庭假和病事假。
麻州政府官員指出，麻州通過一系列措施來支持家庭和照護者，包括持續投資於托兒機構的穩定（如 C3 計畫）、擴大托兒名額、提高早期教育工作者的薪酬、增加對家庭的經濟援助以及改進費率結構等。
Massachusetts Ranked Best State for Working Moms
Latest national ranking gives Massachusetts top marks for its child care system and strong paid family medical leave program
BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll Administration today is celebrating a recent national ranking of Massachusetts as the best state for working moms, beating out larger states like Florida and California and neighboring states like Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
WalletHub compared state dynamics across 17 key metrics in all 50 states to determine the top spot, including child care quality, number of child care workers per number of children, parental-leave policies, and the average length of a woman’s work week, ranking Massachusetts number one overall. The state was also number one for its child care system and work-life balance.
“We are proud to see Massachusetts recognized as the best state for working moms in the country,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Our greatest strength is our people. We are home to the best child care programs and schools, the most innovative businesses and a strong paid family medical leave program. Our administration has made progress to expand the number of child care seats, increase educator wages and stabilize child care business. We are dedicated to building on this momentum by continuing to invest in our communities, make Massachusetts more affordable, and ensure that we remain the best place to live for future generations.”
“Our administration has prioritized child care because we know that for many parents, especially working moms, affordable child care is the difference between going for that promotion and cutting back to part-time,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Child care is an essential part of our economy – it’s good for families and it’s good for business. Team Massachusetts will continue to prioritize making child care more affordable and accessible for all families.”
Through the Paid Medical and Family Leave program, most Massachusetts workers are eligible for up to 26 weeks of combined family and medical leave for qualifying reasons, including caring for a serious health condition, caring for a family member with a serious health, bonding with your child during the first 12 months after birth, adoption, or placement, caring for a family member who was injured serving in the armed forces, and managing affairs while a family member is on active duty.
“The Healey-Driscoll administration values caregivers in the workplace, and we remain dedicated to delivering a strong support system to help attract and retain Massachusetts workers,” said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones. “This ranking reflects Massachusetts’ collaborative effort across government, labor, and the business community to lift up resources in support of caregivers, like working moms and beyond, as we grow a more affordable, equitable, and competitive Commonwealth for all.”
“Through funding proposals, policy priorities and IT investments, we have been focused on building the equitable, accessible and affordable child care system that our children, families, educators and communities deserve,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “Today’s ranking is another example of why Massachusetts is the best place to go to school, raise a family, and work.”
"In talking with providers and parents across the early education and care system, and being a working mom myself, I know firsthand how vital access to reliable, high-quality child care is to supporting whole families and enabling working women in particular to advance their economic mobility," said Amy Kershaw, Commissioner of Early Education and Care. "This ranking recognizes the impact of the Healey-Driscoll Administration's intentional efforts and investments to expand and improve access to high-quality care to make Massachusetts a great place to live, work and raise a family."
Massachusetts’ early education and child care accomplishments under the Healey-Driscoll Administration to-date:
Massachusetts is the only state in the nation to continue funding federal COVID era child care stabilization grants (known in Massachusetts as the Commonwealth Cares for Children or C3 program) at the same level as the federal government.
Governor Healey codified C3 into state law when she signed the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget.
The licensed capacity of the child care system has grown and exceeds pre-pandemic levels, with the capacity to serve 45,054 more children compared to the pandemic low in the Spring of 2021. The number of licensed programs has increased by 24%, with 1,666 more programs compared to the pandemic low.
Over the last two years, the state has added 17,423 center-based and family child care seats for children.
Early childhood educator compensation increased almost 20% in the last two and a half years, exceeding average inflation over that same time period. The percentage of vacant positions across the system has also decreased from 11% to 9% compared to 2023.
The number of children receiving child care financial assistance has increased by approximately 10,000 since January 2023.
Child care financial assistance rates for providers have increased by almost $90 million under the administration. Also, in 2024, Massachusetts became the sixth state in the country federally approved to move forward with a cost-based alternative methodology when setting rates, which has enabled the state to bring all rates closer to the true cost of providing care while addressing long-standing inequities by geographic region and age group of children served.
Governor Healey established the Interagency Early Education and Child Care Task Force to create a whole-of-government approach to affordable high-quality child care. The Task Force released their year one report recently that outlines 30 actionable efforts across all cabinet secretariats to advance affordable and accessible care.
The administration established the first dedicated family child care capital program.
Governor Healey established Literacy Launch: Reading Success from Age 3 through Grade 3 to provide Massachusetts preschool programs, schools, educators and students with access to high-quality, evidence-based reading instruction through literacy materials, technical support, coaching and professional development for educators.
The administration increased EEC’s Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services grants from $3.5 million a year to $5 million to promote the developmental, social-emotional, and behavioral well-being of infants and young children. Also, the administration secured $5 million in the fiscal year 2025 budget to develop a Mental Health Framework from birth to college.
The administration's FY24 - FY28 Capital Investment Plan increased the Early Education and Out-of-School Time capital grants by $4 million a year for 4 years to $10 million a year.
The administration awarded more than $1.5 million in fiscal year 2024 for registered apprenticeship programs focused on developing the early education and care workforce. To support these efforts, EEC awarded an additional $1.4 million to support existing early childhood apprenticeship programs and fund regional intermediaries for center-based and family child care programs.
Senate Releases Fair Share Package Investing in Public Education, Transportation Statewide
- Special Education Costs: $248 million, including circuit breaker reimbursements to local school districts.
- Public Higher Education Deferred Maintenance: $175 million for higher education overall, including $10 million for lab resources for community colleges following the success of MassEducate.
- Career Technical Education Capital Grants: $100 million to expand capacity and accommodate additional career technical education opportunities.
- Local School Construction Relief: $50 million to support cities, towns and school districts experiencing extraordinary school construction increases due to inflation.
- Literacy Growth: $25 million to support accelerated literacy growth for students in kindergarten through grade 3.
- English Language Learning Programs: $10 million for educational grants to reduce the waitlist for services for speakers of languages other than English to learn English and subsequently help fill in-demand jobs.
- MBTA Improvements and Infrastructure Upgrades: $370 million for improvements and transportation infrastructure upgrades across the MBTA system including:
- $200 million to replenish the MBTA budget reserve after the MBTA’s recent usage of reserve funds to support operations;
- $100 million in workforce and safety training to implement improvements recommended by the Federal Transit Administration;
- $50 million for commuter rail system maintenance and infrastructure upgrades; and
- $20 million for the MBTA’s low-income fare relief program.
- Local Road Improvements: $190 million for shovel-ready transportation improvements to roads, bridges, and culverts.
- Regional Equity in Transportation: $105 million for regional transit initiatives including:
- $50 million for capital improvements to equipment and facilities at Regional Transit Authorities, which serve and connect all regions of the Commonwealth;
- $25 million for efforts to improve workforce recruitment and retention at the Regional Transit Authorities;
- $20 million for ferry infrastructure improvements; and
- $10 million for on-demand micro-transit shuttles and Last Mile grants fostering an innovative multimodal transit system.
- World Cup Preparations: $5 million for transportation improvements associated with the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
吳弭市長剪綵 Wales街37號20戶可負擔住宅啟用
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