Changes to how we work are here to stay. A new report shows how Mass. needs to change with them. – Boston.com
By Christopher Gavin
As working parents likely already know, child care in Massachusetts doesn’t come cheap, that is, if it’s available at all.
In the Bay State, home-based private child care cost families roughly $5,000 more each year than the national average. For center-based care, families pay between $6,000 and $8,000 over the national average annually…
“Child care, child care, child care came up again and again and again (and) transportation again and again and again,” Lesser said of the commission’s work. “(Both) came up as consistent challenges for workers.”
The commission’s report acknowledges even before the ongoing pandemic, the state’s early education and child care system was “deeply strained and over-capacity.”
Child care centers closed for months because of the health crisis, and when they reopened, workforce challenges, health measures, and capacity limits all created new obstacles for the industry.
“We need to close the child care access gap for working families,” Lesser said. “We need to increase salary and training opportunities for child care workers.”