Here's a solution to the child care crisis on Cape Cod – Cape Cod Times
By Sandra Faiman-Silva
The Common Start Coalition has been working for more than three years to address the state’s early education and child care crisis, through the comprehensive Common Start Bill. The House Education Committee recently released legislation that is heavily based on the Common Start bill, and we are thrilled that the new bill — H 4795 — strongly reflects many of our coalition's core principles and proposed solutions.
Massachusetts is poised to make a major down payment on our vision of a high-quality early education and child care system that is affordable and accessible for all families. It's a goal that will help not only our children and families, but also early educators, childcare providers and our entire economy…
The Lower and Outer Cape are described as "child care deserts" where virtually no places are available for infant care because facilities cannot find staff. The state’s legislative Economic Review Commission found that immediate funding is needed now and in the long term to help providers keep their programs open and pay high enough wages to keep educators in classrooms.
The major provisions from the Common Start bill that are part of the proposed legislation include reimbursing providers based on enrollment rather than attendance to provide more predictable, reliable funding; expanding access to child care subsidies, beginning with low-income families and then moving up the income scale; and creating an additional operational funding stream that goes directly to providers to help them afford the cost of offering quality care, including higher pay for educators.