Gov. Healey going big with early care investments – Spectrum News
Gov. Maura Healey will press for major investments into the long-strained early education and care sector despite her administration's muted forecast for state finances, pitching the spending as an economic and competitive necessity.
Healey on Tuesday announced plans to pursue about $93 million in new child care spending in her fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, which will also request another $475 million in grants to continue supporting early education providers.
Altogether, the governor outlined more than half a billion dollars she wants to deploy to help more Bay State families access and afford child care, particularly in lower-income areas and communities of color.
"We recognize that the cost of child care is high, is out of reach for so many. We know that too many providers are hanging on or barely hanging on. Too many educators struggle," Healey said after touring child care facilities in Malden. "We know that there are predominantly women, especially immigrants and women of color, impacted by this. It's an equity issue for sure. We know that too many parents have had to make a hard choice to not work, to not leave the home and work simply because they cannot afford child care."