Loading....
Dear Representative:
As a constituent, I am writing to ask you to invest in the continued sustainability and growth of the early education and care system. The early education and care system needs continued public investment in order to meet the needs of children, families, communities, early childhood professionals, and employers.
Please support the following early education and care line items in the FY25 state budget:
Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) Grants: $475 Million (at least level funding across line items 3000-1045 and 1596-2410). At least this amount will be needed to sustain the state’s operational grants to early education and care providers to offset their operating costs, including ongoing payroll expenses and higher educator pay. We ask that you dedicate the maximum amount of recurring state revenue to ensure the program's continuity. In order to make confident investments in annualized salary increases, providers need to see a permanent commitment to operational grants from the state.
Important program adjustments are in development this spring, which may include changes to the grant formula, data collection, fund use requirements, and eligibility requirements. We expect these adjustments will ensure predictability and continued, but controlled growth in system capacity and educator compensation moving forward. We recommend that the legislature offer broad-based guardrails and reporting mechanisms for this program, so the department can assess the upcoming changes they are currently implementing. This will allow for input from programs and a smoother transition. Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission Report Recommendation #8.
Rate Increase for Early Education and Care: $60 Million (increase of $60 million to line items 3000-1041, 3000-1042, or 1596-2434) Funding needed to build on the Legislature’s past work to establish rates for family child care and center-based programs that cover the cost of care and meet federal benchmarks so all programs that serve low-income children and priority populations can continue to invest in quality and raise workforce salaries. The reimbursement rate remains 20-30% below the private market and the cost to deliver services. We also expect this will continue to improve access to child care financial assistance by increasing the number of programs that accept vouchers. Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission Recommendation #3.
Increase Access to Income Eligible Care: $40 Million (increase of $40 million to line item 1596-2435) Funding needed to increase access to child care financial assistance for income-eligible families - creating 4,000 new slots for children on the waitlist. Thanks to your investment last fiscal year, EEC was able to grow the caseload to 58,000 children and reach its funding appropriation limit. We strongly support the Governor’s proposal to increase access for children and families under the 85th percentile of State Median Income, while also continuing to prioritize the lowest-income families. Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission Recommendation #5.
Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative: $38.6 Million (increase of $18 million across line items 3000-6025 and 1596-2412) For grants that support communities to develop public-private partnerships between school districts and local early education and care programs. This funding creates planning and implementation opportunities to expand access to affordable high-quality preschool, build locally aligned quality, and support equitable access to special education and inclusion. Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission Report Recommendation #13.
Access Management: $23 Million (increase of $3 million to line Item 3000-2000) Funding needed to enable the child care resource and referral agencies to provide additional navigational support and outreach to families eligible for early education and care financial assistance. Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission Report Recommendation #12.
Early Education and Care Workforce Personal Child Care: $20 Million (increase of $5 million to line Item 3000-4060) Build on investment to provide financial assistance for staff working in early education programs. This funding is needed to support our workforce with their own child care. This has helped 2,195 children enroll in care and is an important recruitment and retention tool. It also incentivizes educators to work in programs that sign voucher agreements. We ask that you consider categorical eligibility for all staff working in licensed early education and care programs to remove income eligibility barriers so that educators will continue to be eligible for this benefit as compensation increases. Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission Report Recommendation #8.
Head Start Supplemental Grant: $20 Million (increase of $2.5 million to line item 3000-5000) Funding needed to increase salaries in Head Start classrooms and help programs meet their non-federal match requirement.
Family and Community Engagement Services: $13 Million (increase of 10% in line item 3000-7050) Funding for the coordinated family and community engagement grant program, a statewide network that strengthens families, and promotes early learning success for children birth to five.
Afterschool and Out-of-School Time (ASOST): $10.9 Million (level funding to line item 7061-9611) This grant provides resources to afterschool and summer providers to help them meet the rising demand from low-income families and address the recent cuts in federal funding for out-of-school time services. With state support, this program can continue to reach thousands of children and working families.
Workforce Development Initiative: $10 Million (level funding to line item 3000-7066) Strengthening the career pipeline for early educators and enhancing high quality early education by promoting educator access to higher education opportunities. Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission Report Recommendation #10.
Early Childhood Mental Health: $5 Million (level funding to line item 3000-6075) For early childhood mental health consultation services in early education and care programs.
ParentChild+: $4.75 million (increase of $500,000 in line item 3000-7052) Funding needed to provide evidence-based school readiness, early literacy, and family support services to young children, families, and caregivers who do not otherwise have access to these supports. This funding would enable the program to reach families in underserved Gateway Cities.
Summer Learning: $3 Million (level funding to line item 7061-9814) This grant provides resources to afterschool and summer providers to help them meet the rising demand from low-income families and address the recent cuts in federal funding for out-of-school time services. With state support, this program can continue to reach thousands of children and working families.
Reach Out and Read: $1.75 million (level funding to line item 3000-7070) Funding for Reach Out and Read, which works with pediatric care providers and families with young children to promote early literacy.
Neighborhood Villages: $1.2 Million (increase of $200,000 to line item 3000-7055) This $200,000 increase would allow Neighborhood Villages to continue to develop and pilot much needed mental health instructional support within the Neighborhood and to expand the reach of our early literacy curriculum.
Jumpstart for Young Children: $750,000 (increase of $300,000 to Jumpstart in line item 3000-1000) Supports Jumpstart’s program training 550 college students from 14 Massachusetts community colleges, colleges, and universities to deliver Jumpstart’s evidence-based curriculum in 111 preschool classrooms in underserved communities across the state while also launching a new workforce acceleration pilot to develop early education career pathways for college students.
The Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission met in 2022 to review how childcare programming is funded in the commonwealth and to make recommendations for potential legislative changes in funding and related policies. Over the past two years, the House and Senate have made excellent progress implementing the recommendations in the report. Many of the line items included in this budget ask sheet highlight opportunities to build on that progress.
Thank you for your leadership and commitment to high-quality early education and care. We look forward to working in partnership with you to develop innovative, comprehensive, effective ways to reframe how we think about early education, sustain this substantial progress, and invest the resources needed for implementation.
We're not targeting any representatives in your district. But you can still help!
Forward our advocacy email to your contacts in Massachusetts who may be interested in this action. Thank you!
For further support, email tdosremedios@strategiesforchildren.org