Facts In Action

On June 6, the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee released its proposal for the state Fiscal Year 2002 (FY'02) budget. Overall, the Committee added approximately $22 million to the early education and care budget over FY'01 amounts, but proposed approximately $12 million less than the House approved in its May version of the budget. Some of the highlights of the proposed Senate Ways and Means budget include:

• An increase of approximately $29 million in funding for child care for low-income working families. According to state officials, this amount will cover the level of services provided in FY'01, incorporating last year's subsidy rate increases, plus a small number of new subsidies. There is a statewide waitlist of over 17,000 children for this program.

• A rate increase for subsidized care totaling $10 million, compared to $11 million proposed by the House. The rate increase proposed by the Senate Ways and Means Committee would be targeted toward staff recruitment, retention, and professional development.

• A major increase in funding for competitive community-based after-school grants through the Department of Education. The Senate Ways and Means Committee proposed a total of $9.4 million for these grants compared to the House's final number of $5.9 million. The Committee also restored $3 million in funding for school-age programs in eleven of the Commonwealth's cities with the most at-risk youth. This "Targeted Cities" funding had been eliminated in the House's proposed budget.

• A total of $19.13 million in statewide funding for quality full-day kindergarten through the Department of Education. This represents a decrease of almost $12 million from the House's final proposal, and a decrease of almost $9 million from the final FY'01 budget.

As we go to print, the full Senate is expected to debate the FY'02 budget in mid-June. After the debate is complete, both the House and the Senate final versions will be taken up by an appointed conference committee of three House members and three Senate members, who will send their final recommendations to Acting Governor Jane Swift. While the goal is for the final state budget to be complete by the beginning of the Fiscal Year on July 1, historically there have sometimes been temporary budgets passed to allow the House and Senate more time to work out their differences.

For more information:
on the Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2002 budget, contact Christine Johnson-Staub at (617) 695-0700 x229, cjstaub@AssociatedEarlyCareAndEducation.org, or Julie Asher at the PACCT Campaign, (617) 547-1063 x244, asherj@ccrcinc.org.

Facts in Action, June 2001