Timilty Amendment Included In Bill On Early Childhood Education

BRAINTREE, MA - State Senator Walter F. Timilty, who represents Braintree, on Thursday voted for the Senate version of a bill to transform and expand access to high-quality, affordable early education and childcare.

The final legislation includes an amendment Timilty filed which will foster student mentorship in the childcare work force.

“This bill addresses access, affordability, and workforce challenges in Massachusetts' early education and care sector and, importantly, makes permanent the direct-to-provider grants," he said. "Furthermore, my amendment expands upon the bill by requiring that the Department of Early Education and Care identify opportunities for collaboration and mentorship between grant recipients and our outstanding vocational schools whose curriculum include early education and care."

Timilty said mentorship relationships should be fostered between vocational school students and industry professionals. This partnership should be encouraged in early childhood education, he explained, to reduce later turnover and transition in the workforce.

“Therefore, we must ensure that our up-and-coming talent pool has the tools, education and mentorship necessary now and in the future,” he added. “My amendment will help to expand and clarify the Massachusetts Department of Education and Care’s role in promoting and developing a career ladder for the early childhood sector here in the Bay State.”

This bipartisan legislation will improve compensation and professional development opportunities for the early education workforce, according to Timilty. The bill draws from the recommendations made by the Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission, which was created by the legislature in 2020 and which issued its final report in March.

Among other points, the Senate bill would:

• Increase subsidy eligibility over time from the current level of 50% of state median income ($65,626 annual household income for a family of four) to 125% of state median income ($164,065 annual household income for a family of four)
• Make it easier for subsidized providers to offer scholarships or discounted tuition for their private pay families
• Require the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) to evaluate and eliminate barriers to subsidy access for families on an annual basis
• Require parent fees for subsidized families to be affordable and updated at least every five years
• Require EEC to assess the extent of the current supply of licensed childcare availability across the state and the unmet needs of families
• Makes permanent the operational grants to providers that were first distributed during the pandemic and requires that a provider must be willing to enroll subsidized children in order to qualify for a grant

Having passed the state Senate, the bill now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.