Child care centers in Mass. are near a breaking point, advocates warn – NBC Boston
By Mary Markos
Advocates and lawmakers are pushing for more government funding for families and child care providers in Massachusetts, warning that without it, child care centers could close and the cost for families could increase.
Pandemic-era grants from the federal government ran out in September, so Massachusetts spent $475 million to keep what’s called C3 grants going directly to providers through the end of the fiscal year. Advocates say child care centers can’t pay high enough salaries to retain their staff without passing the cost onto families, who are already paying upwards of $30,000 for tuition.
"Tuition is sky high yet teachers are paid little better than minimum wage because fundamentally what the sector needs is way more public investment than what it's currently getting,” Neighborhood Villages co-president Lauren Birchfield Kennedy said.
Now advocates like Kennedy are calling on the government to offer financial assistance permanently – both for parents and providers. Lawmakers on Beacon Hill are considering proposals to do just that. Sen. Jason Lewis filed legislation that would not only make those grants for providers permanent but would also expand financial assistance to include both the lowest and middle-income families.
“If it were not for the pandemic relief money that was provided to the early education sector, we would have really seen a major collapse,” Lewis told NBC10 Boston Tuesday. “We have to do more to help our families to afford this cost.”