Healey prioritizes early education in State of the Commonwealth address – Bay State Banner
By Avery Bleichfeld
Governor Maura Healey’s proposal to boost universal early education in Massachusetts would expand access to state-affiliated pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds, increase who is eligible for child care financial assistance and continue a state grant program supporting child care providers.
Healey initially announced the nearly $590 million proposal on Jan. 16, and pushed it again during her first State of the Commonwealth address the following day.
“We’re going to keep working — with businesses, providers, and the champions of child care in the legislature and across the state,” Healey said during the address. “Together, we will expand access, lower costs, and meet this child care challenge.”…
The early childhood education proposal marks a major step forward, said Deb Fastino, director of the Common Start Coalition, which advocates affordable early childhood education and care.
She pointed to a proposed increase in the eligibility in the state’s Child Care Financial Assistance program, from its current level at 50% to 85% of state median income. The program supports families at or below the income limit to reduce how much they pay for child care based on household size and income. An increase was one part of a policy platform that the coalition has pushed for that was included in Healey’s proposal….
Fastino said the governor’s proposal would create opportunities for more families to be eligible for [early] education and care programs for their children. “It’s the opportunity for more mixed-delivery providers to keep their doors open and provide better wages for their early educators,” she said.
Support for early childcare providers would come from continued funding to the state’s Commonwealth Cares for Children grant program, which was launched in 2021 and offers funding to early education and care providers to support operational and workforce costs.