Stephanie Iancu, Aiden FitzGerald and Lily Sexton

Is Kindergarten the New College?

Many Massachusetts parents are struggling to afford child care, which has become more expensive than certain public colleges in some parts of the state.

Link to Methodology

The first few years of a child's life are critical in shaping their academic performance in the years that follow. However, in most parts of Massachusetts, the state or local government doesn’t get involved in children’s education until they reach elementary school. 

The high cost of childcare in Massachusetts is a major barrier for many families, especially  those with lower incomes. The state's reimbursement rates for childcare expenses are often inadequate, leaving many families unable to afford quality preschool programs. This is particularly concerning given research that shows the long-term benefits of early childhood education.

To understand the extent of the issue, we analyzed state budget data and enrollment data for preschool programs in Massachusetts. We found that the state's investment in early childhood education is significantly lower than other areas of the budget, and the number of children enrolled in preschool programs lags behind neighboring states. Our data visualization highlights the need for increased investment in early childhood education in Massachusetts, particularly for families who are struggling to afford quality preschool programs.

Cost of childcare:

The first thing we looked at was the cost of childcare in Massachusetts compared to surrounding states. The data shows that Massachusetts has some of the highest childcare costs in the country:

The data shows in Massachusetts - education, including childhood education, is severely underfunded compared to other states. Because of this, families often do not receive enough reimbursement rates from the state to afford to send their children to most preschools. The other data we included was from Vermont, where they already have a near-universal pre-K program. 

Here in Massachusetts, the funding given to the Executive Office of Education is overshadowed by the Executive office of Health and Human Services - and it is comparable to the amount given to Administration and finances. But in the state it is being compared to, Education is very close to being the most funded area. 

This lack of investment can have a significant impact on children's development, particularly for those from low-income households.

According to a recent study by Columbia University researcher Kim Noble, giving low-income families just $333 a month for childcare could drastically improve their child’s cognitive development. In addition, investing in a child’s early education and care generates a very large return on investment. Studies estimate that for every dollar put into childcare, around $7 will be returned.

But Massachusetts does not budget to allow for that return - therefore preventing children of lower income families from attending the early education facilities they could use. 

According to a recent Boston Globe article, “Research shows that kids from well-resourced households are ahead of their low-income peers by kindergarten.” The first few years of a child’s life are crucial in defining how the child will perform academically in the years that follow.

“If you think of the brain as a machine that needs experiences to build itself, what you notice is that, when there are fewer experiences, whether it be in social interaction with parents, or with caregivers, or whether it be in the amount of place that you have in the environment, to build mental and social capital, those kids do end up very early on, by age three, showing differences,” said Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, an expert on early childhood development. “I don't ever want to argue that there's a threshold at which things aren't recoverable for people. I believe the brain is a very flexible organ, but what we do find though is that the earlier, the better.”

State budgeting per capita:

At this point we are already examining the funding differences between Massachusetts and Vermont, but with their population being so different - it is also useful to look at how much each state is investing per capita in education.

This graph shows how much Vermont overshadows Massachusetts. As of 2022, Massachusetts has a per capita budget of $12,539, while Vermont's per capita budget is significantly higher at $34,182. This disparity is striking, and raises questions about how each state is allocating its resources to support education. 

“The market for childcare is a failed market because the cost of care is not affordable for most working families,” said Jill Ashton, Northeast Regional Administrator for the Women’s Bureau, in a recent phone interview. “We cannot build a care system on the backs of an underpaid workforce, which is predominantly women and women of color.” 

The potential solutions:

“Investing in early education and care is a critical piece of the Healey-Driscoll administration strategy to ensure our earliest learners have classrooms where they can thrive regardless of their background, and parents and families have the child care they need to participate in the workforce and grow and strengthen the economy,” said Delaney Corcoran, Spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education. 

The new administration recognized that adequately funding the early education system had become an economic imperative. Governor Healy secured Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) – a set of child Care Stabilization Grants aiming to support early education and care providers’ day-to-day operational and workforce costs – funding through the end of the 2023 fiscal year when she signed the supplemental budget, and that 2024 budget would invest more state funds in “sustaining and expanding access to early education and child care than ever before” according to Corcoran. 

Corcoran also said that the 2024 budget includes $475 million fully supporting the continuation of C3 stabilization grants to child care providers through the end of that year.

“The grants have allowed providers to continue to operate and provide critical education and care for young children across the state, despite increasing operational costs and challenges in workforce recruitment and retention. Parents, many of whom are women, have been able to return to work as a result,” she said. “Without the continuation of these grants, we are looking at a serious swath of child care closures across our state. Nearly 1 in 10 of C3 grant recipients said they would close their doors without this funding.”

With waitlists also being a significant challenge for many parents when it comes to childcare access, the House approved a budget of $25 million to provide greater access to families on the state’s waiting list for child care and doubled funding for the Commonwealth Pre-School Partnership Initiative from $15M to $30M. An additional $1.5M is also being proposed by the Healy administration to fund trauma-informed professional development of early educators with the goal of enabling them to better support the social and emotional needs of their students.

“We know that the pandemic has only exacerbated the mental health challenges of our children and we want to support our teachers who are facing it every day with the best tools available,” said Corcoran.

Conclusion: 

The high cost of childcare in Massachusetts is a major barrier for many families, and the state's reimbursement rates for childcare expenses are often inadequate, leaving many families unable to afford quality preschool programs. 

The newly launched National Database of Childcare Prices, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, provides childcare prices in 2,360 U.S. counties and is the most comprehensive federal source of childcare prices at the county level. It depicts the undeniably exorbitant childcare expenses for families throughout the country.

The database highlights the urgent need for greater federal investments. With record low national employment rates and people who want to join the workforce but for the lack of affordable childcare, Ashton said, “what is a way that we as a country can come together to address this failed market?” 

Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon said in a recent press release that families are facing burdensome childcare expenses all across the country. “The last few years have highlighted the tension parents experience when they need to go to work to provide for their families, but have difficulty doing so if they can’t access affordable child care.”

The data reviewed today shows the ways that Massachusetts is underfunded and families are struggling to afford quality preschool programs. The high cost of childcare in the state, coupled with inadequate reimbursement rates, makes it difficult for low-income families to provide their children with the early education they need to succeed in school. 

While neighboring states - namely, Vermont - have already implemented near-universal pre-K programs, Massachusetts lags behind in terms of investment in early childhood education. However, investing in a child's early education and care generates a significant return on investment, and the state should consider increasing funding for early childhood education to ensure that all children, regardless of their family's income, have access to quality preschool programs. 

By investing in early childhood education, Massachusetts can help to level the playing field for all children, giving them the foundation they need to succeed in school and in life. The Healy administration has committed significant resources toward addressing this issue and the next few years will be crucial in determining if these investments pay off.