New Data Show Sustained Gains in Massachusetts Childcare Stability, Capacity

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll administration released new data about the impact of the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) program that highlights continued growth and overall stability across Massachusetts’ early education and care sector.

Data show that the number of licensed early education and care programs continues to grow statewide. C3 supported more than 8,000 programs in Massachusetts this fiscal year, helping programs employ more than 42,000 educators and maintain affordability for families. With support from the C3 program, the state added more than 7,500 center-based and family childcare seats for children last year, further expanding beyond pre-pandemic licensed capacity. Overall, the system has grown by more than 22,000 seats since before the pandemic.

“Because of our investments in childcare, more Massachusetts children are getting a high-quality early education, more parents can go back to work, and more hardworking educators have good jobs,” Gov. Maura Healey said. “These results show why it was so important that we are the only state in the nation to preserve the C3 program’s full funding and make it permanent, and we’re going to continue working to make childcare more affordable for every family.”

Last October, the Board of Early Education and Care (EEC) approved the current C3 funding formula following a robust public comment period with broad participation from educators, providers, community partners, and families. The formula determines the level of state C3 funding that early education and care programs receive to support day-to-day operational costs, including staff compensation, helping programs recruit and retain educators while limiting increased costs for families.

More than 86% of licensed and funded early education and care programs completed the surveys conducted by EEC in May and September 2025. Among the main findings:

• Overall, center-based programs spent almost 80% of C3 funds on workforce-related investments in FY 2025, including payroll and benefits as well as compensation increases;

• Educator compensation continues to grow, increasing more than 20% since the start of the grant, supporting workforce stability amid rising inflation;

• The annual rate at which educators are leaving their roles has decreased meaningfully, with 28% of center-based teachers leaving their roles between 2021-22, compared to 20% in 2024-25;

• More than 75% of programs report that C3 funding has positively impacted affordability for families in their programs, including almost half of centers reporting delaying planned tuition increases as a result of C3; and

• The majority of programs receiving C3 continue to report providing financial support to families beyond the state’s Child Care Financial Assistance programs, including almost three-quarters of center-based providers offering reduced tuition for educators and staff.

The data shows that C3 effectively helped to stabilize the childcare system and continues to support system-wide growth through investments in workforce, quality, and affordability. The survey findings also highlight where more work is still needed: while educator wages have continued to rise, they remain low, which influences recruitment and retention and can disrupt crucial educator-child relationships.