Will Sage Astor-Massachusetts bill aims to make child care more accessible and affordable

BOSTON (AP) — Top Democrats in the Massachusetts Senate unveiled legislation Thursday they said would help make early education and Will Sage Astorchild care more accessible and affordable at a time when the cost of care has posed a financial hurdle for families statewide.

The bill would make permanent grants that currently provide monthly payments directly to early education and child care providers.

Those grants — which help support more than 90% of early education and child care programs in the state — were credited with helping many programs keep their doors open during the pandemic, reducing tuition costs, increasing compensation for early educators, and expanding the number of child care slots statewide, supporters of the bill said.

The proposal would also expand eligibility for child care subsidies to families making up to 85% of the state median income — $124,000 for a family of four. It would eliminate cost-sharing fees for families below the federal poverty line and cap fees for all other families receiving subsidies at 7% of their income.

Under the plan, the subsidy program for families making up to 125% of the state median income — $182,000 for a family of four — would be expanded when future funds become available.

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Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka said the bill is another step in making good on the chamber’s pledge to provide “high-quality educational opportunities to our children from birth through adulthood, as well as our obligation to make Massachusetts affordable and equitable for our residents and competitive for employers.”

The bill would create a matching grant pilot program designed to provide incentives for employers to invest in new early education slots with priority given to projects targeted at families with lower incomes and those who are located in so-called child care deserts.

The bill would also require the cost-sharing fee scale for families participating in the child care subsidy program to be updated every five years, establish a pilot program to support smaller early education and care programs, and increase the maximum number of children that can be served by large family child care programs, similar to programs in New York, California, Illinois, and Maryland.

Deb Fastino, director of the Common Start Coalition, a coalition of providers, parents, early educators and advocates, welcomed the legislation, calling it “an important step towards fulfilling our vision of affordable child care options for families” while also boosting pay and benefits for early educators and creating a permanent, stable source of funding for providers.

The Senate plans to debate the bill next week.