Common Start Coalition Applauds Senate Budget That Takes Major Steps to Deliver Affordable, High-Quality Early Education and Child Care

House and Senate Budgets Would Both Make Operational Support for Child Care Providers Permanent, Expand Access to Affordable Child Care for Families, and Raise Provider Reimbursement Rates

BOSTON – The Common Start Coalition, a diverse group of more than 170 organizations and thousands of individuals focused on establishing a system of affordable, high-quality early education and child care for Massachusetts families, today applauded Senate leaders for including new investments in the state’s early education and child care system, and major policy changes that would put Massachusetts on the path to establishing a comprehensive system of affordable, high-quality early education and child care, in their proposed FY25 state budget. The coalition released the following statement in response:

“With this budget proposal, Senate leaders are delivering on their commitment to Massachusetts children, families, child care educators, and early education and care providers. By including major elements of the EARLY ED Act in their budget proposal, along with substantial new investments in funding for early education and care, the Senate is taking important steps to advance our vision of affordable child care options for families; significantly better pay and benefits for early educators; a permanent, stable source of funding for providers; high-quality programs and services for children; and substantial relief for businesses and our entire economy.

“Governor Healey and House and Senate leaders are now united in proposing transformative permanent improvements to Massachusetts’ early education and child care system, with the state budget as a legislative vehicle. These changes include permanency for the groundbreaking C3 operational grant funding program, new investments in child care financial assistance for low-income families and in rate increases for the providers who serve them, and the adoption of multiple policy reforms that would propel Massachusetts towards a strengthened early education and child care system for years to come.

“While the two chambers have each prioritized different important policies in their budgets, and careful work will be needed to reconcile their proposals, Massachusetts is now on the verge of implementing wide-ranging early education and care legislation through the budget that would make our state more affordable for many families, greatly improve our state’s economic competitiveness, and increase racial and gender equity in our communities.

"We are excited to continue working with the Senate, the House, and the Healey-Driscoll Administration to pass major early education and child care policy improvements through the state budget, secure the funding increases that families and providers desperately need this year, and continue to deliver on our vision until high-quality early education and child care is truly affordable and accessible to all Massachusetts families.”

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The Common Start Coalition is a statewide partnership of organizations, providers, parents, early educators and advocates working together to make high-quality early education and child care affordable and accessible to all Massachusetts families. Our goal is to ensure that all families have the care solutions they need and that all children in our Commonwealth have the same, strong start and enter school on a level playing field. We are a diverse coalition including community, faith-based, labor, business, and early education and child care organizations, as well as early educators, parents, individuals, and direct service organizations.

The coalition, established in 2018, includes more than 170 organizations across Massachusetts, and is coordinated by a steering committee comprised of the following members: CEO Action for Racial Equity, the Coalition for Social Justice, Greater Boston Legal Services, the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA), Jumpstart for Young Children, the MA Association of Early Education and Care (MADCA), the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children (MAAEYC), the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the MA Commission on the Status of Women, Neighborhood Villages, Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, SEIU Local 509, and Strategies for Children. More than 3,000 individual parents, caregivers, early educators, center administrators, business owners, and family child care providers are active members of the Common Start Coalition. More information about the coalition is available at commonstartma.org.