Healey administration changes state Child Care Financial Assistance program policies to increase accessibility

Politics

The changes largely work to increase efficiency within state agencies and remove barriers that prevent families from accessing child care financial assistance programs.

Amid rapidly increasing child care costs and the end of pandemic-era child care funding, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey‘s administration is making significant policy changes to state Child Care Financial Assistance programs with the goal of making them more accessible. 

The updated regulations and policies will simplify the application process for parents, reduce paperwork for families and early education programs, and better support the state’s most vulnerable families, Healey’s office said in a press release Monday. 

“We’re proud to take this important step forward that we know will lead to increased labor market participation and economic mobility for families, and support children’s school and life success,” Healey said in the release. 

The changes largely work to increase efficiency within state agencies and remove barriers that prevent families from accessing these assistance programs.

In terms of efficiency, Healey’s office said the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), which runs the programs, reduced and eliminated unnecessary and duplicative paperwork and reporting requirements “that create an undue burden for parents.” 

The EEC also streamlined the financial assistance process by better aligning it with partner agencies such as the Department of Transitional Assistance and the Department of Children and Families, Healey’s office said.

When it comes to removing barriers, Healey’s office said the EEC made even more changes.

These include:

• Launching email and text campaigns to support families throughout the financial assistance process
• Launching a new family-facing website about Child Care Financial Assistance programs
• Updating provider employment definitions and requirements to include more flexibility for hourly wage earners and people working from home
• Waiving fees for homeless families
• Easing reporting requirements for people with disabilities and people in treatment for substance abuse disorders
• Using more inclusive language
• Updating how policies are written to be more easily understood
• Increasing the number of languages assistance program information is available in

The EEC has been working with stakeholders to identify what changes needed to be made for the last year and a half, Healey’s office said.

The policy changes will impact the approximately 58,000 children and their families who use these assistance programs to help pay for child care, early education, and after school programs. The programs allow the state to pay for these services directly, sometimes at no cost to parents. 

Money for the programs comes from both the federal government and through the EEC’s budget. This year, Healey’s office said, her administration and the Legislature put $778 million towards child care financial assistance, an increase of $60 million over the prior fiscal year.

Right now, about 56% of licensed early education and child care programs in Massachusetts utilize these programs to provide care for low-income or subsidized students, Healey’s office said. 

For information on how to apply for Massachusetts Child Care Financial Assistance programs, visit the state’s website.