EARLY EDUCATION and care providers that accept state child care financial assistance will soon be reimbursed more for each infant, toddler and child they serve after the Board of Early Education and Care unanimously approved the Healey administration’s proposal to address rising operational costs and inequities across geography and age of children served.
Gov. Maura Healey’s office said the approval means providers across the state will start to receive at least a 5.5 percent increase to their daily per child reimbursement rate beginning next month — an increase of more than $2,000 per child on average each year. Providers will also get a one-time retroactive payment to account for the increased rates retroactive to July 1, 2023.
“An increase to the state’s level of reimbursement will have a profound effect here on the Cape. In a time when the rising cost of living is pushing young early educators out of the field, this increase will help us retain the next generation of great teachers,” Denise Graham-Reardon, executive director of children & family services at the YMCA Cape Cod, said.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said the administration “heard from child care providers that some regions in the state have disproportionately lower rates, and that infant and toddler rates have been too low for too long” and said the rates approved Wednesday “are a big step forward in addressing these past inequities and in our work to expand access and affordability for families across Massachusetts.”
The adopted proposal is expected to use $65 million from the fiscal year 2024 budget to align rate amounts so that providers in parts of the state that have similar economics get the same rate amount. There will also be higher reimbursements for infant and toddler care to more closely align with the cost of providing care to those age groups.
The newly approved proposal incorporated the cost of care as a metric to be considered when setting rates. Federal rules require states to use either a market rate survey or alternative methodology to determine their reimbursement rates, and the Healey administration said Massachusetts is now the sixth state approved by the feds to use an alternative methodology for setting rates for child care financial assistance.
