Child care bill backers see Massachusetts poised for 'transformational' change – GBH
By Katie Lannan
Massachusetts policymakers invested big in child care and early education in this year’s state budget, and advocates are now calling for them to follow up by passing a reform package that aims to both make care more affordable and help keep the industry financially viable.
Lawmakers, parents, early educators and other supporters gathered in a classroom at the East Boston Social Center Monday to tout legislation dubbed the “Common Start” bill.
Backed by a majority of state lawmakers and a statewide coalition of more than 170 groups, the bill would expand financial assistance for families, establish new funding for child care providers and deliver better pay and benefits for early educators.
Rep. Adrian Madaro, one of the bill's lead sponsors, said lawmakers made a "major down payment" on the visions of the Common Start Coalition by including about $1.5 billion for early education and care in this year's budget, more than double the amount of funding from five years ago.
"This has certainly helped stabilize our child care system, especially coming out of the pandemic when it was really in rocky shape, but there's still a lot more work to do," he said. "And the reality is the high cost of child care is pushing young families out of the state, and it's become a major threat to Massachusetts' economic competitiveness."