Renewed Push for Affordable, High-Quality Early Education and Child Care Kicks Off With Filing of Bills to Advance Common Start Agenda
Common Start Coalition of 150+ Organizations, Parents, Early Educators, and Providers Launches New Phase of Legislative Campaign
BOSTON – The Common Start Coalition, a diverse group of over 150 organizations leading the campaign on Beacon Hill to address the multi-faceted childcare crisis, today praised the filing of two bills that would advance the Common Start agenda for affordable, accessible, high-quality early education and child care.
“Massachusetts’ child care system is in crisis: families, providers, and early educators have reached a breaking point, and our entire economy is suffering the consequences. Massachusetts needs urgent action to solve the child care crisis, and these bills begin the work of making high-quality early education and child care affordable and accessible to Massachusetts families,” said Deb Fastino, Statewide Director of the Common Start Coalition and Executive Director of the Coalition for Social Justice. “These bills build on last year’s excellent work by the Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission and the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education, and incorporate additional priorities from our coalition of more than 150 organizations across the state. We look forward to working with Speaker Mariano, Senate President Spilka, Governor Healey, the Joint Committee on Education, and members of the Legislature to get comprehensive child care legislation across the finish line so we can deliver the relief that parents, educators, providers, and children desperately need.”
House bill HD.2794, filed by State Representatives Adrian Madaro and Ken Gordon, and Senate bill SD.667, filed by Senators Jason Lewis and Susan Moran, would provide the specific structure that is needed to deliver affordable care options for families; significantly better pay and benefits for early educators; a new, stable source of funding for providers; high-quality programs and services for children; and substantial relief for businesses and our economy.
“Our current child care system is in crisis — classrooms are closing, waitlists are growing, educators are leaving the field in droves, and tuition costs are soaring,” said Lauren Kennedy, Co-President of Neighborhood Villages. “These pieces of legislation would help make the early education and care system more accessible and equitable for everyone — children, families, providers, and educators. It’s time for Massachusetts to become a national leader and take meaningful steps towards creating a more just and fair society through child care reform. We look forward to working with legislative leaders and other stakeholders to achieve just that.”
Under the bills, programs would be available in early education and child care centers, private homes, and schools – the same settings where early education and child care is provided now. The bills affect early education and care for children from birth through age 5, as well as after- and out-of-school time for children ages 5-12, and for children with special needs through age 15 – in line with the ages covered by the current child care subsidy system.
“More than 150 years ago, with the vision and leadership of Horace Mann, Massachusetts pioneered the revolutionary idea that K-12 education should be a public good, accessible to all children and families,” said State Senator Jason Lewis, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education and co-lead sponsor of SD.667. “Now it is time for the Commonwealth to once again lead our nation by establishing that high quality early education and child care should also be a public good. This investment would yield tremendous benefits for child development and working families, and help foster a stronger, more just economy for all.”
“Childcare has been inaccessible and unaffordable for many families in Massachusetts for far too long,” said State Representative Adrian Madaro, co-lead sponsor of HD.2794. “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the necessity of childcare for working families and the large gap that exists between need and availability. As a father of a toddler, I recognize how important it is for parents of all socioeconomic backgrounds to be able to access quality care without breaking the bank. That's why I'm proud to be partnering with advocates and my colleagues in the legislature to establish universal childcare across the Commonwealth. This bill supports childcare providers with the funding and resources they need, while also ensuring that every family in Massachusetts can access essential childcare services."
“Common Start is not only the best solution for giving our families and children the tools they need to succeed, but it will unleash the economic power of women that has been held back and stifled especially during COVID,” said State Senator Susan Moran, co-lead sponsor of SD.667.
“Massachusetts is a leader in so many ways, and with this bill we will ensure Massachusetts families have real access to effective, efficient early education and childcare,” said State Representative Ken Gordon, co-lead sponsor of HD.2794. “I am proud to join with Rep. Madaro, my Senate colleagues and so many advocates and community leaders to stand up for our children, their parents and our early childhood educators. At the same time, this will help our businesses address job openings they are desperate to fill.”
The Common Start legislative framework uses a combination of direct-to-provider operational funding and family financial assistance to reduce costs to families while compensating providers for the true cost of providing quality care.
Operational Funding: The bills would permanently establish a direct-to-provider funding allocation based on provider capacity (not attendance) that directly offsets provider operating costs, including higher educator pay – similar to the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) program.
Family Financial Assistance: The bills would provide financial assistance to enable more families to afford and access high-quality early education. They prioritize families earning at or below 85% of state median income ($115,546 for a family of 4, or $78,571 for a family of 2) and, as funding becomes available, would extend eligibility for financial assistance to middle-income families.
“This legislation will be transformational for early education teachers,” said Jarred Rose, a Pre-K teacher and member of the MA Association for the Education of Young Children. “Most early educators are facing a tough choice - they have full time jobs that they love but they simply can't pay their bills on their wages and more and more are leaving the field because of it. This reality hurts children, families, and the entire economy. This bill will increase teacher pay and professional development opportunities and finally treat early education teachers like the professionals they are.”
Public support for state investment in early education and child care is strong, and has increased significantly amid the child care crisis. A statewide poll of Massachusetts voters, conducted in December on behalf of the Common Start Coalition, found 73% support for the Common Start proposal, with only 18% of voters opposing it. Support is up nearly 10 points from two years ago, when the corresponding margin on this question was 64%-23%.
“Whether they have young children or not, Massachusetts residents understand the importance of early education and child care as a core underpinning of an equitable economy,” said Cindy Rowe, Executive Director of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA). “With legislative leaders and Governor Healey in agreement on the need to tackle the child care crisis, the stars are aligning for comprehensive action that puts Massachusetts on the path to affordable and accessible high-quality early education and child care for our state's families.”
Since 2018, the Common Start Coalition has been steadily building a broad-based coalition to advocate for affordable, accessible, high-quality early education and child care. During the 2021-2022 legislative session, the coalition developed the comprehensive Common Start legislative framework that would help children, families, educators, providers, and businesses, and signed up a majority of legislators as cosponsors. In the spring of 2022, the coalition’s vision was reflected in a major report written by the state’s Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission and in legislation approved by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education.
“The childcare system's current financial model isn't working for anyone. Families face incredibly high costs, educators struggle with low pay, and providers are stuck in the middle just trying to keep their doors open,” said Mark Reilly, Vice President of Policy & Government Relations at Jumpstart. “The Common Start legislative framework provides a path to a better system: one that delivers affordable care options for families; significantly better pay and benefits for early educators; a new, stable source of funding for providers; high-quality programs and services for children; and substantial relief for businesses and our economy.”
The Senate passed its version of the Education Committee bill unanimously in the final days of the 2021-2022 legislative session, and while the bill did not receive a vote in the House, a majority of state representatives are on record supporting the Common Start framework. Additionally, state leaders made a major down payment on the coalition’s vision by including more than $500 million in new early education funding in the state budget and an additional $465 million in new funding in the economic development bill passed in November.
“The MCSW strongly supports the Common Start agenda because parents/guardians and providers deserve equitable early education and childcare solutions,” said Mary-dith Tuitt, Legislative & Public Policy Chair of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. “These changes will positively impact children, families and caregivers. As champions for women and girls in the Commonwealth the Commission will always support enhancement to education and the workforce.”
A recent report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation found that the state loses $2.7 billion each year due to inadequate access to child care, including $1.7 billion in lost earnings for employees, $812 million in additional costs and lower productivity for employers, and $188 in lower tax revenues for the state. The Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission found that public funding is necessary if Massachusetts is to offer children an equal education, families affordable care, providers a sustainable business model, and educators a competitive living wage. As the Legislative Commission report says, immediate funding is needed now, as well as in the long term, to ensure that providers can keep their programs open and pay wages sufficient to keep educators in their classrooms.
“Every day, family child care providers across Massachusetts go above and beyond to provide quality care for families in our communities,” says Maritza Manrique, Family Child Care Chapter President at SEIU Local 509. “We are dedicated professionals who remain committed to supporting children in learning and thriving, but our work continues to be underfunded and unappreciated. Child care providers are resourceful and we have made the impossible happen – but we shouldn’t have to. It’s time the Commonwealth establishes a permanent funding system that invests in our work and addresses the child care workforce crisis.”
“Massachusetts’ child care system is broken and the Common Start legislative framework is a critical first step to fix it. Increasing access to high-quality care will ensure that more low-income, Black, and brown children get the start that they deserve. Child care providers, who are disproportionately women of color, deserve fair compensation and professional support that reflect the importance of their work,” said Adam Jones, a Policy Analyst at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “For far too long, the Commonwealth hasn’t addressed the needs of children, their families and the professionals who care for our children, leaving those most in need at the greatest disadvantage. This legislative session, our elected leaders can move us closer to an equitable Commonwealth by passing the Common Start legislative framework.”
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The Common Start Coalition is a statewide partnership of organizations, providers, parents, early educators and advocates working together to make high-quality early education and child care affordable and accessible to all Massachusetts families. Our goal is to ensure that all families have the care solutions they need and that all children in our Commonwealth have the same, strong start and enter school on a level playing field. We are a diverse coalition including community, faith-based, labor, business, and early education and child care organizations, as well as early educators, parents, individuals, and direct service organizations.
The coalition, established in 2018, includes more than 150 organizations across Massachusetts, and is coordinated by a steering committee comprised of the following members: CEO Action for Racial Equity, the Coalition for Social Justice, Greater Boston Legal Services, the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA), Jumpstart, the MA Association of Early Education and Care (MADCA), the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children (MAAEYC), the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the MA Commission on the Status of Women, Neighborhood Villages, Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, SEIU Local 509, and Strategies for Children. More than 3,000 individual parents, caregivers, early educators, center administrators, business owners, and family child care providers are active members of the Common Start Coalition. More information about the coalition is available at commonstartma.org.