A newly released study from a national public policy group found that Massachusetts fared slightly better than the national average as far as percentage of kids served by federally supported child care subsidies.
The analysis by the Center for Law and Social Policy, or CLASP, relied on the latest available federal data, which was from 2020. At that time, about 14% of children nationwide ages birth to 13 who were eligible to receive assistance through a Child Care Development Block Grant — the primary source of federal child care funding — actually received financial support.
The federally administered Child Care Development Block Grant has an eligibility cutoff of 85% of a state’s median income. But individual states can set their own policies for when a family qualifies. Oftentimes, that’s based on how much additional money a state can afford to set aside to supplement the grant.
Here in Massachusetts, families that make less than 50% of the state median income currently qualify for child care financial assistance (for a family of two, that’s $49,467; for a family of three, that’s $61,106). According to CLASP’s analysis, about 17% of kids who were eligible for support under federal definitions in Massachusetts actually received a subsidy in 2020.
The study further found that the total pool of eligible children would be larger except that most states set income eligibility cutoffs for child care subsidies below the federal maximum limit of 85% of a state’s median income.
According to the Center’s analysis, if Massachusetts raised its income qualifications to the maximum federal cutoff rate, an additional 129,958 kids would have been eligible to receive child care financial assistance in 2020.
The organization also noted that historic economic inequality has created an increased need for child care financial assistance among families of color.
“When coupled with low overall access, this demonstrates a clear and immediate need for significant and sustained increases in federal funding to states, as well as policies that intentionally address compounding racial and economic inequities,” the authors wrote.
Among the Massachusetts kids who received federally supported child care subsidies in 2020, 37% were Hispanic/Latino, 19% were white and 14% were Black.
But the nonprofit also acknowledged that raising state subsidy income qualification rates is not an easy ask. In most cases, states don’t have the money to support an income limit that follows the federal cutoff of 85% of state median income.
“Things like limited federal investments and state funding constraints and restrictive policies at the state level mean that subsidy access is really out of reach for far too many children and families,” said Stephanie Schmitt, director of child care and early education for CLASP.
An analysis from earlier this year, however, found that many more states are expanding income eligibility cutoffs to provide greater child care support for families.
Early education and child care advocates in Massachusetts agree that the income bar to qualify for subsidies needs to be raised. But Amy O’Leary, the executive director of child care advocacy group Strategies for Children, said the state has been moving in the right direction in recent years. Since fiscal year 2021, the budget for the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care has increased by more than 78%. O’Leary is also encouraged to see both the executive and legislative branches support increased child care spending this year.
“What’s different now in Massachusetts is we see actual proposals being filed in budget language and in legislation,” O’Leary said. “We’re not just saying, ‘oh, we have to do something.'”
In this year’s State of the Commonwealth address, Gov. Maura Healey highlighted a proposal to increase the child care subsidy cutoff from 50% to 85% of the state median income to reach more low- and moderate-income families — a provision that’s also in a state Senate bill. The administration is also working towards expanding universal prekindergarten access in Massachusetts’ Gateway cities by 2026.
Schmitt, of CLASP, said the goal of the report was to raise awareness around the need to invest more dollars toward supporting child care and early education systems at the local, state and federal levels.
“We’re really hoping that people can use this data to make the case for the need for additional investment and transformative policy,” she said. “And to help people understand what the current environment looks like.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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