UMass Boston: Child Care Disparities Exist Across Massachusetts
A new UMass Boston Early Education Cost and Usage Simulator Project (CUSP) report has mapped Massachusetts child care capacity, revealing uneven licensed capacity across the state. Pockets of severe and…
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A new UMass Boston Early Education Cost and Usage Simulator Project (CUSP) report has mapped Massachusetts child care capacity, revealing uneven licensed capacity across the state. Pockets of severe and extreme shortfalls for infants and toddlers exist, according to the report.
According to a UMass Boston news release, key findings identified in the report include the following:
- Moderate shortfalls for all ages are concentrated in the Western, Central, and Southeastern regions of the state.
- Three PUMA (public use microdata areas) sites have extreme shortfalls in center-based infant and toddler care at the current level of implementation. One includes Lowell; another includes Revere, Chelsea, and Winthrop; and a third includes Brockton, Stoughton, and Avon.
- By age group, the highest need as a percent of effective capacity for center-based care is among toddlers.
UMass Boston's release explained that the study uses a statistical model to estimate the impact of expanding affordable, quality child care and early education. It compares capacity to demand under two geographic frameworks and two policy scenarios, including full implementation of family financial assistance.
“With so many families in need of licensed child care and early education, the state and localities must carefully consider how to best address shortfalls in those areas with the least capacity to meet current and future demand,” said Anne Douglass, professor of early childhood education policy and founding executive director of Early Education Leaders, in a media release about the report.
The study's findings note that full implementation of the state's child care financial assistance could improve access. However, resources must be targeted to address geographic disparities and promote equity in child care.
This recent brief is the fourth in the UMass Boston CUSP Project series, following prior briefs in 2023 and 2024 on utilization, employment impacts, and equity.
