State Launches Family Portal to Help Parents, Caregivers Pay for Childcare
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll administration announced the launch of MyChildCareMA, a modern, mobile-friendly, and multi-lingual family portal for the state’s Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) programs. Families can now apply for childcare financial assistance, track application progress, and manage their cases through a single, streamlined platform.
MyChildCareMA was supported through Gov. Maura Healey’s FutureTech Act and Capital Investment Plan (CIP). This improved user experience will make it easier for families to apply for help paying for care, ease administrative burdens on childcare providers, and improve program integrity and transparency.
“Massachusetts consistently ranks as one of the best places in the country to raise a family because we make real investments for families to be able to afford childcare and other supportive services,” Healey said. “We’re proud of the work our administration is doing to make it easier for families to get the help they need, and MyChildCareMA is a big step forward. It makes it simpler, faster, and more transparent for families to apply for and manage childcare financial assistance all in one place.”
The system is part of the MyMassGov state services platform. Families can log in using the same credentials they use for other MyMassGov services with multi-factor authentication, or they can create a new account to get started.
The underlying technical systems supporting the CCFA programs are out of date, and families and childcare providers must navigate multiple systems to accomplish just one task. MyChildCareMA will eventually serve as both a family portal and case management system, delivering a more accessible, dignified, and user-friendly digital experience. The unified case management system will include managing the childcare financial assistance waitlist, application and eligibility determination, and payments. EEC will also be better prepared to work with other agencies on integrated eligibility and enrollment so there is no wrong door for Massachusetts residents accessing government services.
“Families want to be able to access government services at the time and places that work for them, in their common language and on a mobile device,” Secretary of Education Steve Zrike said. “The new MyChildCareMA family portal is part of our efforts to transform the childcare financial assistance system into what families and providers want and deserve.”