45,000 new seats in 4 years fuel child care growth in Massachusetts — Berkshire Eagle
By Colin A. Young, State House News Service
Massachusetts is the only state that has continued to fully fund a popular pandemic-era child care grant program after the federal government's tap shut off. On Wednesday, Healey administration officials shared new data showing the return on that investment.
The $475 million Commonwealth Cares for Children, or C3, program helps more than 7,500 child care and early education programs across Massachusetts with their day-to-day operational costs, including helping to boost pay for more than 45,000 educators while limiting cost increases for families.
Over the last year and with the support of C3 grants, the state has seen an increase of 8,700 center-based and family child care seats for children (4 percent), the Board of Early Education and Care reported Wednesday. That means each program receiving C3 money added an average of about one new seat.
The capacity of the child care system in Massachusetts has expanded by 45,000 seats compared to the pandemic-era low in spring of 2021 and by 17,423 seats over the last two years, the administration said.