Rally at Mass. Statehouse calls for action on child care costs – Telegram & Gazette
By Kinga Borondy
Facing the highest child care costs in the nation, Massachusetts legislators Thursday were joined in the Statehouse by dozens of families and their children rallying to support a duo of bills meant to increase access and affordability for all residents.
The push to increase worker salaries and benefits, increase availability of grants and loans to providers, and establish a network of facilities providing families with high-quality care for their offspring has been a priority for the Healey/Driscoll administration.
“We are working for the kids,” said Carl Nilsson, organizing consultant with Common Start Collation, the organizer of the rally that drew hundreds of supporters to the Statehouse. He described the state of early education and child care in Massachusetts as a “crisis situation” that has affected every element of life.
The issue, Nilsson said, is not just a question of affordability – there is also a dearth of care providers and early childhood educators in Massachusetts. Child care workers and educators left the field in droves during the pandemic, forced out by low pay and benefits. Providers shuttered their doors due to lack of workers as well as lack of funds to stay open.
The bills filed by Reps. Ken Gordon, D-Bedford, and Adrian Madaro, D-Boston, and Sens. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, and Susan Moran, D-Falmouth, would raise salaries and benefits for workers industrywide while also providing a stable funding source for grants and other incentives and supports for providers.