Healey’s proposal would include $38.7 million to expand low or no-cost preschool options for four-year-olds to all 26 Gateway cities by 2026. Twelve Gateway cities — which include Brockton, Fall River, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Salem, Springfield and Westfield — currently offer those options today through the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative.
Another $75 million would fund the expansion of child care subsidies to families that earn up to 85 percent of the state medium income.
Today, residents are eligible for the Child Fare Financial Assistance program if they earn 50 percent or less of the state median income, or $61,106 for a household of three people. Healey’s proposal would raise that qualifying income for $103,880 for a family of three, adding an estimated 4,000 low- and moderate-income families to the program.
The final proposed investment — $475 million — would maintain the Commonwealth Cares for Children grants, funds that were first put aside to alleviate providers’ costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. (The program was initially slated to run through last September, but was extended through until June 2024, and now again.)
Healey’s executive order also directs her administration to partner with the business community to work on creative ways to expand access to child care, build new facilities, and reduce costs for families.
The Globe first reported on this concept last fall, highlighting a business grant program in Iowa that in two years created nearly 11,000 more spots for the children of working parents. Now a pending bill in Massachusetts, modeled by business leaders after Iowa’s public-private partnerships, that aims to do the same.
At the event Tuesday, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler recognized the governor’s effort as a “fundamental transformation” to the way the state approaches childcare.
“We are making systemic changes for the next generations of Massachusetts residents,” he said. “The childcare and preschool initiatives announced today will act as a downpayment to the future success of our children building a foundation for social, emotional and academic success.”
Lauren Kennedy, co-founder of the early education advocacy nonprofit Neighborhood Villages, agreed, calling the proposal “a phenomenal step” towards cementing a permanent and sustainable financial pipeline for child care, and a leap towards academic and social equity.
C3 grants helped providers stave off tuition increases and remain open these past three years, according to a 2023 survey from the Department of Early Education.
“Couple [the grants] with increased access to childcare and financial assistance, as the governor said today, and we’re having an exciting conversation about how we can push Massachusetts forward,” Kennedy added.
What remains unclear though is how Healey’s initiatives fit into the big picture, said Amy O’Leary, executive director of the advocacy organization Strategies for Children. Many of her proposals mirror the goals of two other bills already winding through the State House that aim to create new avenues for provider funding and financial assistance.
“With legislation already pending, how does it all fit together?” O’Leary asked. “What does this mean for permanency? What does this look like and feel like for families long-term?”
Healey’s proposals will need approval by the state legislature. In a statement, Senate President Karen Spilka said the Senate plans to pass a “comprehensive early education and childcare bill” this session, and that she remains hopeful that “with a willing partner in the Governor’s office, we can make permanent, meaningful changes to help parents, providers, and our youngest learners.” House Speaker Ron Mariano did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Still, Healey is signaling that childcare is at the top of her agenda for this year. Tuesday’s announcement precedes her first State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday evening. And the administration’s continued investment in the child care industry stands in sharp contrast to other recent budget news out of the State House.
In addition to Tuesday’s announcement, the state recently increased the reimbursement rate child care providers receive by 5.5 percent per student. And while Healey last week announced $375 million of budget cuts to over 60 programs, including senior outreach, homeless shelters, and cancer research, due to tax shortfalls, she left early childcare funding as-is.
Even as Massachusetts parents wrestle with some of the highest early education costs in the country, they urged Healey to keep working on the issue.
“Our children are our future,” one first-time Chelsea mother said to the crowd Tuesday morning. “There is nothing more important than supporting them.”
Diti Kohli can be reached at diti.kohli@globe.com. Follow her @ditikohli_. Samantha J. Gross can be reached at samantha.gross@globe.com. Follow her @samanthajgross.
