Massachusetts budget makes covid-era childhood grants permanent – WWLP
By Julia O'Keefe
The Massachusetts fiscal year 2025 state budget will make Covid-era childhood grants for those in need permanent.
Massachusetts’ “Commonwealth Cares for Children Grants”, known as C3 grants, have provided a means of stability to over 7,000 childcare providers across the Commonwealth since their implementation in July 2021. These grants were initially meant to be stabilization funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to address the financial burdens of qualifying providers during the Covid-19 pandemic, enabling providers to better serve families and their staff.
C3 helped fill a large gap of need for places like Square One in Springfield that rely heavily on financial assistance to provide early education to working families.
“This allowed Square One to keep all of our classrooms open, all of our staff were employed,” said Dawn DiStefano, President and CEO of Square One in Springfield. “Because, again, we were able to maintain that business stability, children are cared for in a healthy environment.”
C3 is an integral part of the state’s early education system and has changed the way childcare centers serve families. With the approval of the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget, C3 grants are here to stay, and childcare workers are feeling an increased sense of security.