$2.5 million in funding now available for renovations

BOSTON - The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced today a new partnership between the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, to support family child care programs’ capital needs. Through this new Family Child Care Capital Grant Program, providers who are homeowners can apply for up to $25,000 to support space improvements and build program capacity. This is the state’s first program dedicated to supporting family child care programs’ unique capital needs as small businesses.   

The application for the first round of grants is now open through August 16 with a total of $2.5 million in funding available. The capital opportunities are available through the Early Education & Care Provider Capital funding delivered in the fiscal year 2024 state budget as part of the Administration and Legislature’s commitment to early education. This first round of grants will serve as a pilot, with future rounds anticipated incorporating learnings from this round.? 

“Earlier this year we announced millions in capital funding for center-based early education and out-of-school time programs. I am pleased we are adding dedicated funding for our family child care programs as well to?improve and expand affordable child care offerings for families,” said?Governor Maura Healey. “We are focused on making early education and care more accessible and equitable across the state. Providing capital funding to programs is an essential part of that work,?helping families struggling with the high cost of living make ends meet and ensuring their kids can get a high-quality education.” 

“The Family Child Care Capital Grant Program is a true demonstration of our whole of government approach to child care – agencies bringing their unique expertise together in?ensuring affordable, high-quality early education and care. I am grateful that we are able to provide family child care programs the financial resources they need to invest in our youngest learners and strengthen local early education infrastructure, promoting economic mobility for families and stimulating our economy,” said?Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. 

These efforts are part of Governor Healey’s Executive Order 625?that established an?Early Education and Child Care Task Force chaired by the Secretaries of Education, Labor and Workforce Development, and Economic Development to ensure affordable, high-quality child care. This new Family Child Care Capital Grant Program aims to increase the capacity of licensed family child care programs, supporting the state to serve more kids. It further seeks to meaningfully improve the quality of care and education provided in programs’ physical space. 

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to supporting the full early education and care mixed-delivery system. This new grant program expands capital opportunities to family child care, better ensuring they have the financial resources they need to provide modern, accessible, healthy and safe environments for our kids and educators. I am excited to see how this funding will create the kinds of physical indoor and outdoor spaces our children deserve to learn and play in every day,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. 

“Ensuring adequate child care and resources for our youngest generations is vital for fostering economic growth in our state,” said Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao. “The Family Child Care Capital Grant Program will not only strengthen our investments in essential programs and businesses that our workforce relies on but also reaffirms our commitment to making Massachusetts the best place for families to start and grow, knowing they have our administration’s full support.” 

Family Child Care providers can apply for funds to purchase and install equipment, such as washing machines or refrigerators that exclusively support program operations and security equipment like cameras and access control systems. Providers can also apply for funds to make improvements to the spaces where care is provided, for example installation of fencing to enclose outdoor play areas, improvements to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation systems, including windows and HVAC equipment, especially as it results in replacement of combustion heating systems in favor of high-efficiency heat pumps, and other energy efficiency measures for space improvements, and modifications to the space to allow for greater accessibility or other improvements to support inclusion of children and adults with disabilities. 

“EEC has been focused on exploring the best ways to support family child care programs, including through capital funding, that addresses their unique needs and challenges as small businesses,” said?Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw.?“I am grateful for this new partnership with MassDevelopment that will support our kids, families, and educators in family child care programs to spend time in newer, greener and more accessible and safe high-quality learning environments, supporting families to go to or return to work and engage in education and training.” 

“This initiative has twin goals for advancing our economy: strengthen our family child care providers as small businesses with the resources they need to improve care and serve additional children, and by doing so empower more parents and guardians to more fully participate in our workforce,” said Acting MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan O’Connell. “MassDevelopment has experience supporting key industries in Massachusetts, and is pleased to now partner with the Department of Early Education and Care on a forward-thinking plan to address our family child care providers’ capital needs.” 

“Family child care programs are the foundation of our Commonwealth’s economy, and we need to be doing everything in our power to help them to thrive,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “This pilot program, which the Senate was proud to dedicate funding for through the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, will give our early educators the tools to expand high-quality programming and serve more children, and I cannot wait to see the great investments that will be made with this money across the Commonwealth.” 

“We are committed to providing better access to high-quality, affordable early education and childcare in Massachusetts with every opportunity that we have,” said State Senator Jason Lewis, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. “This grant program will support family childcare providers by improving quality of care and supplying more available slots for families. Providing increased access to high-quality and affordable early education and childcare enhances the cognitive and social-emotional development of young children, enables parents to work and improves families’ economic well-being, and helps employers that are struggling with workforce shortages.” 

The grant program incorporates feedback EEC received through their recent Request for Information (RFI) that focused on how to best support FCC programs through dedicated capital funding. It also builds on the $18 million made available earlier this year for center-based providers and the state’s continued efforts to enable kids, families, and educators to spend time in newer, accessible, greener and more sustainable and safe high-quality learning environments. 

Learn more about the program and how to apply online.