SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler hosted a listening session for residents to share their concerns regarding early education and child care in Springfield on Monday.
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The event was part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Early Education and Child Care Task Force’s Listening Sessions. The Task Force was founded by Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll as part of their “Gateway to Pre-K”.
“On January 16, the Governor called for the whole of state government to lean into, solving for many of the pressing challenges that we know exist in the early education and care sectors,” explained Tutwiler.
The initiative focuses on affordability, accessibility, and challenges like retention. Monday’s session was the only session out of fourteen in western Massachusetts. Secretary Tutwiler said this isn’t the first time the state is focusing on accessible child care, but going forward, they have five priorities of their Inter-Agency Task Force.
The priorities cover: surveying the practices of other states, assessing better coordination to support families, identifying resources for building capacity and affordability, identifying strategies to recruit, and retain workers and reviewing existing assets for potential locations for center-based education and care.
Two attendees who operate a private family child care business shared their struggle, “We charge less money than them, and we feel that we provide a very good service, so it’s very tough for us.”
The Task Force will present their report on the listening sessions to the Governor by November.
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Publish date : 2024-08-05 12:25:00
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