Are you struggling with childcare? Tell us what support you’d like to see.
We want to know how you think Mass. should address the rising cost of childcare.
The last two years of the pandemic have upended the lives of many parents of young children, and as we inch our way back to normal, things are only going to get more complicated.
With a growing number of employers calling workers back to the office, many families will lose out on their ability to work while having the flexibility to care for their children. Several readers have told Boston.com that having more time with their kids was one of the things about working from home they’ll miss the most.
Parents of children under five have also been in limbo for much of the pandemic as they await approval for a COVID-19 vaccine for their young children.
Throughout the pandemic, advocates for childcare reform have called on lawmakers to put policies and programs into place that would better support parents in Massachusetts. A new report found that Massachusetts is the most expensive state to have a baby.
Last year, there was a push for the state to adopt a universal early education program that would allow parents to spend no more than seven percent of their household income on child care.
The average annual cost of infant care in the state is more than $20,000, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The consequences of the cost and lack of child care are stark, especially for women, who are more likely to drop out of the workforce to parent their children and have made slower returns to employment since the start of the pandemic.
The program under the proposed bill would be funded similarly to K-12 schools and serve children from birth to age five. Currently, in Massachusetts, not all school districts offer tuition-free, full-day kindergarten. If the proposed legislation passes, it would be the first of its kind in the nation.
Lawmakers have taken notice. Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano said this week that it was time for the state to take seriously the rising cost of child care for Massachusetts parents and called for legislation to tackle the problem.
What kinds of steps do you think Massachusetts should be taking to support parents of young children in need of child care? Do you think the state should implement the proposed universal early education program or should the state try other measures first?
Let us know how you’ve been handling child care for your family and what, if any, support you’d like to see from lawmakers or employers by filling out the survey below or emailing us at [email protected].
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