Mass. House Speaker says lawmakers could tackle soaring child-care costs ‘right away,’ potentially in next month’s budget – Boston Globe
By Matt Stout
Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano indicated Wednesday that lawmakers could begin tackling the exorbitant costs of child care in Massachusetts “right away,” if in a more limited fashion than advocates have sought.
The Quincy Democrat’s remarks offered a window into how the Legislature could address an issue many parents say demands sweeping change and traditionally has been met with sticker shock by policy makers.
With roughly four months left in the legislative session, State House leaders have touted the need for — but have yet to formally debate — legislation to reshape a child-care system plagued by costs that, by some measures, are the highest in the country and are coupled with low early educator salaries.
A special legislative commission formed to study early education said a raft of recommendations it produced this month could cost up to $1.5 billion annually. Advocates have pushed other legislation to create a universal early education system, potentially at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars annually…
The average annual cost for infant care in Massachusetts is more than $20,000, and on average families spend 30 percent more on infant and toddler care than they do on rent, according to the legislative commission’s study.
“Child care is just like infrastructure. We need to do this,” Spilka said Wednesday, without detailing how the Senate might address it.