Common Start Coalition Praises Gov. Healey for Proposing New Investments in Early Education and Child Care in FY24 Budget
Common Start Coalition of 150+ Organizations, Parents, Early Educators, and Providers Says Governor’s Budget Proposal “Would Move Us Further Along the Path” to Affordable, High-Quality Childcare for All
BOSTON – The Common Start Coalition, a diverse group of over 150 organizations leading the campaign on Beacon Hill to address the multi-faceted early education and child care crisis, today praised Governor Healey for proposing substantial new investments in the state’s early education and child care system in the FY24 state budget.
“We appreciate Governor’s Healey’s leadership in proposing solutions to the multi-faceted early education and child care crisis, from increased support to financially-strapped providers and reductions in the waitlist for financial assistance, to career training for early educators to aid with workforce shortages,” said Deb Fastino, Statewide Director of the Common Start Coalition. “Last year’s state budget and economic development bill made a major down payment on the Common Start vision of affordable, high-quality early education and childcare for all in Massachusetts, and the Governor’s budget proposal would continue the momentum toward that vision.”
“As we work with legislators and the Governor to pass comprehensive early education and child care legislation this session, our goal is to stabilize and fully support the state’s early education and child care system,” Fastino continued. “Reaching our full vision of affordable care options for families; significantly better pay and benefits for early educators; stable operational funding for providers; high-quality programs and services for children; and substantial relief for businesses and our economy will require a sustained funding effort over the course of several years. We’re grateful to Governor Healey for prioritizing investments in early education and care that would move us further along the path to achieving the full Common Start vision.”
Governor Healey’s proposed FY24 budget includes the following funding for the state’s early education and child care system:
$475 million to continue the state’s C3 grants to child care providers to offset their operating costs, including higher educator pay
$25 million to reduce the current waitlist for access to child care financial assistance for low-income families
$20 million in rate increases for subsidized child care providers
$10 million to support career training for early educators
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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 150 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.