Common Start Coalition Statement on Mass Taxpayers Foundation Childcare Study

BOSTON - In response to a new study by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation that finds that unmet child care needs are creating a $2.7 billion annual drag on the MA economy, the Common Start Coalition released the following statement from Statewide Director Deb Fastino:

"This new report confirms what our coalition of more than 145 organizations across the state has been saying throughout the pandemic: Massachusetts can't afford not to fix our broken child care system. When families can't access high-quality affordable child care, workers are forced out of the workforce and employers struggle to fill jobs; the child care crisis is dragging our entire economy down by at least $2.7 billion every single year.

"We urge legislators to redouble their efforts to tackle this crisis immediately, starting by making the $722 million in immediate-term investments recommended by the state's Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission in the FY23 budget. As this report shows, investments in early education and childcare will have an incredible return on investment for Massachusetts' economy, and failing to fix the child care crisis will only allow the costs of inaction to accumulate."

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