The cost of child care in Mass. is among the highest in the country. But vouchers to assist families remain frozen. — Boston Globe
By Katie Johnston
It’s been almost two years since Hannah Tower applied for a child-care subsidy for her youngest son, Cooper, now almost 3. Tower, a single mother in Dudley, had just finished training to become a certified phlebotomist and EKG tech, and was ready to find a job.
But vouchers for families like hers, who qualify based on their income, have been frozen for a year. And without this financial assistance, Tower can’t send Cooper to day care, which means that Tower, 34, can’t work.
Massachusetts is providing financial assistance to more children than ever — 63,000 in all — but the need is so great that the number of families applying for vouchers is soaring. Nearly 32,000 children are on the waitlist, and it’s unclear when there will be enough state funding to start issuing new vouchers again.