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A Community Vision for Boston’s Students and FamiliesChapter 5: Closing the Early Education and Child Care Gap

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Chapter Summary

High-quality early education and care prepares children for a lifetime of opportunities, eases the burden on working families, and properly values the providers who help set the foundation for our children’s lives. But despite years of promises, a massive early education and care gap has persisted in Boston––and the pandemic has only underscored this reality. Early education and care is a public good, and it requires public investment to close gaps and solve our childcare crisis.

  • One-stop shop in City Hall for enrollment and access to streamline enrollment and outreach, share real-time data, offer open-source resources for providers, organize neighborhood communities of learning, and leverage cultural institutions across the City.

  • High-quality, universal affordability and access by connecting BPS with existing family-based programs, creating new early education programs, recognizing early education providers as professionals, prioritizing partnerships in early education deserts, and extending good food standards to early education centers.

  • Career pathways for early educators in partnership with vocational and higher education programs, reduced red tape for family-based programs, support for programs in Boston Housing Authority, an expanded Childcare Entrepreneurship Fund, and housing that is family care-friendly. 

  • Accessible, inclusive care for all, with options for families who work nontraditional hours, including early education and care collectives; inclusivity in policies and programs; and education about resources available to families experiencing homelessness, including fare-free transit. 

  • Family-friendly workplaces by strengthening and enforcing existing inclusion of day care facilities (IDF) zoning regulations; extending on-site care options to contracted workers; and showing City leadership as an employer.

  • Early education and care as a public good, building coalitions by supporting workplace organizing, advocating for state-level Common Start legislation, deepening partnerships with the private sector, and lobbying for more federal funding.