Boston’s Child Care System Is Collapsing. We Must Bail It Out - WBUR
By Martin J. Walsh & Annissa Essaibi-George
Jenny Vicente cares for children as young as 6 months old in her subsidized apartment in the South End through the state's Emergency Child Care Program, giving essential workers a safe place for their children to be while they work. But she's struggling to keep her business afloat and has fallen behind on her rent — despite financial help from the City of Boston's Resiliency and Childcare Entrepreneur Funds.
Vicente had to spend additional money to keep her Boston Housing Authority apartment safe for the children, including for personal protective equipment, extra staff and reconfiguring her child care space so each child has a separate area.
This year’s COVID closures show why child care is a critical piece of our economic infrastructure. Early educators not only provide children with the foundations of healthy development, but they also enable working families to strive for financial freedom, contribute to our economy and provide the essential services we all rely on.
Now, the system is collapsing. Boston alone has lost almost 5,000 seats, 23% of seats that were available before the pandemic, and it is not clear whether they will come back. This loss will have disastrous consequences for families and for our economy, as many parents will struggle to return to work even when jobs become available.
Early educators have propped up our economy for years, receiving little respect and low pay in return. It is time to bail them out and invest in an equitable future for them and the families they serve.