Policy Pulse #3

7/26/24

In exciting news, the Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget has been passed by the State Legislature and is on its way to Governor Maura Healey's desk for signature. There's a lot to celebrate in this year's state budget, as it includes landmark policy and funding for early education and care. In this issue of Neighborhood Villages’ Policy Pulse, we dive further into the FY25 state budget, share important updates from the Commonwealth’s Department of Early Education and Care (EEC),  and provide more details on how you can provide input to Governor Healey’s Interagency Taskforce on Early Education and Child Care. Let’s dive in!

What to Know

Massachusetts’ FY25 State Budget Is a Major Win for Early Education and Care

The Massachusetts Legislature finalized the FY25 budget and it includes historic spending and policy reforms for early education and care including: 

• $1.54B for early education and care programs.

• Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) direct-to-provider operations grants made permanent.

• Expansion of income eligibility for state Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) and codification of the CCFA program into permanent statute.

• Introduction of loan forgiveness and revised scholarship programs, a career ladder, and other benefits for early education and care professionals.

In addition to important financial investments, this year’s budget also includes the most significant updates to early education and care law in Massachusetts since the Department of Early Education and Care was created twenty years ago. Learn more about what the final budget means for early education and care in Neighborhood Villages’ budget debrief. You can also see the full budget here.

Governor Healey now has until July 28th to sign the budget as is or to veto certain line items within it. If Governor Healey does veto line items (which she likely will) the budget then goes back to the Legislature for consideration. The Legislature will decide whether to accept those vetoes or to override them. We do not expect the Governor to change much about how the Legislature’s budget addresses early education and care - but we’ll report back, once the final budget is signed into law!

Updates From the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC)

• On June 28, 2024, EEC announced a new pilot program, the Family Child Care Capital Grant Pilot Program, which will provide eligible family child care (FCC) programs with funding for investments in facilities. The grant program will be administered by MassDevelopment.

  • The program will begin with a round of funding of $2.5 million, to support FCC providers who own the home where their program is based.

  • Eligible providers can apply for up to $25,000 to make capital improvements and build program capacity.

  • MassDevelopment’s website contains all necessary information, including an application and frequently asked questions. Information can be found under “Pilot Family Child Care Facilities Grant.” 

• EEC issued formal policy memos for previously announced changes that are now in effect or that will go into effect this summer. These include policies for CCFA rates, approved closure days for providers taking CCFA, the use of electronic records, and EEC Essentials 2.0 trainings. Read more about these policies and their implications.

• The Department of Early Education and Care’s Board of Directors does not hold public meetings during July and August. Stay tuned following the September meeting for a recap of their upcoming fall meeting! 

What To Do

Thank Your Massachusetts Legislators for Prioritizing Early Education and Care in the State Budget!

Let your Massachusetts Representative and State Senator know that you notice and appreciate the important steps this years’ budget takes towards a transformed childcare sector. Send an email now!

Share Your Ideas with the Governor’s Interagency Task Force on Early Education and Child Care

There are still three weeks left of community conversations with the Governor’s Interagency Task Force on Early Education and Child Care. Share your ideas on how to improve the sector in Massachusetts by attending an in-person or virtual listening session. You can sign up for a session here. Can’t attend a session? You can also give written input. 

What's Next

Stay tuned for more information on the implications of the FY 2025 state budget in our next issue of the Policy Pulse and join us in August for a webinar on what the state budget means for early education and care in the Commonwealth. Save the Date to come!

• The EEC Board of Directors will resume meeting in September 2024. FY 2025 Board meeting agendas and information on how to stream the meeting can be found here, once they are available.