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Beyond The Pod: S5E3: How We Make Child Care More Accessible
In Episode 3 of our nationally acclaimed hit podcast, ”No One Is Coming to Save Us”, Dr. Jeffrey Liebman, Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins veteran reporter and host Gloria Riviera to break down the root causes of the child care crisis, how it impacts families nationwide, and what a better system could look like.
Beyond The Pod: S5E2: What Defines High-Quality Early Childhood Education?
In the second episode of Season 5 of our hit podcast, “No One is Coming to Save Us,” host and veteran reporter Gloria Riviera is joined by Dr. Junlei Li, Saul Zaentz Lecturer in Early Childhood Education and Faculty Co-Chair of The Human Development and Education Program, to explore what is truly at the foundation of high-quality early learning and to spotlight the many places where children can experience it.
Top 5 Takeaways From the Massachusetts House Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Proposal
On April 30, 2025, the Massachusetts House finalized its $61.5 budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.
Beyond The Pod: S5E1: What Guaranteed Child Care Really Looks Like
Season 5 of our hit podcast “No One Is Coming to Save Us” with Lemonada Media is out now, and we’re excited for you to tune in! In the first episode, we explore what guaranteed child care really means and the systems needed to make it a reality nationwide.
Potential Cuts to Medicaid/MassHealth Will Harm Children, Early Educators, and Child Care
Medicaid or MassHealth is important to the early education and child care sector in Massachusetts. A reduction in Medicaid will directly impact children and the underpaid educators who care for them.
Two Years In, How Neighborhood Villages’ Apprenticeship Program is Addressing the Early Ed Crisis
In January 2023, Neighborhood Villages launched its Registered Apprenticeship Program to address the early educator workforce crisis in Massachusetts. We checked in with Lauren Cooke, Neighborhood Villages’ Director of Apprenticeships, to assess the program's impact so far.
RECAP of the April 9, 2025, EEC Board Meeting: Updates on the KPI Dashboards, PDG, EEC Capital Investment Programs, and C3
At Neighborhood Villages, we prioritize keeping up with the policy landscape in the early education and care field, both across the country and in Massachusetts. That includes tuning-in to the monthly meetings of the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care (“EEC Board”), to stay apprised of updates and to identify opportunities for how we can work with government and other stakeholders to improve our early education and care system.
How Family Child Care Providers are Utilizing Neighborhood Villages’ Play-Based Toddler Curriculum
Last year, Neighborhood Villages introduced Learning Through Exploration, our free, play-based curriculum developed in collaboration with educators, curriculum experts, community members, the LEGO Foundation, and Boston Public Schools. We recently spoke with Edna Cabral – a Massachusetts FCC provider of 22 years and a participant in our Learning Through Exploration pilot program – about her experience with the curriculum.
Neighborhood Villages’ Budget Bootcamp Recap: Empowering the Community to Advocate for Change
Have you ever wondered how the state decides to spend public money in your community?
At Neighborhood Villages, we set out to empower community members to learn more about this process and to advocate for the change they’d like to see.
Inter-Agency Task Force on Early Education and Child Care Releases Goals and Year 1 Report
In January of 2024 Governor Healey created an inter-agency task force on Early Education and Child Care to form a whole of government response to increase access to affordable, high quality child care. Read more about their goals here.
Early Ed Act reforms being implemented: Department of Early Education and Care is updating regulations for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program
In 2024, the Massachusetts legislature passed a suite of policy reforms through the FY2025 budget which advocates had been pushing for since 2020. Here are the proposed regulation changes and what they mean for families in practice.
New Program Brings Early Education to Kids Living in Shelters in Massachusetts
In 2024, Neighborhood Villages partnered with Amal Alliance, Horizons for Homeless Children, and the Healey-Driscoll Administration to launch Colori Express, an innovative mobile early learning initiative that provides developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed care to young children living in shelter and respite centers across Massachusetts.
Massachusetts’ 2025-2026 Legislative Session: What is being proposed for Early Education and Child Care?
The new Massachusetts’ legislative session began on January 1, 2025. While the legislative session in Massachusetts runs continuously for two years, all bills to be considered during the session must be filed in January. For this session of the state legislature, State Senators and Representatives submitted over 6500 bills.
Investing in Early Education and Child Care is key to improve the United States literacy and math scores
Last month the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released the 2024 4th and 8th grade math and reading scores. NAEP, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, is a congressionally mandated assessment given every two years to public school students in grades 4, 8, and 12.
RECAP of the February 2025 EEC Board Meeting: Vote on CCFA Regulations, C3 Program Updates, CCFA Caseloads, and New IT Portals
At Neighborhood Villages, we prioritize keeping up with the policy landscape in the early education and care field, both across the country and in Massachusetts. That includes tuning-in to the monthly meetings of the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care (“EEC Board”), to stay apprised of updates and to identify opportunities for how we can work with government and other stakeholders to improve our early education and care system.
Our 2025 Outlook: Expanding Access to High-Quality Early Education Through Practice and Policy
As we head into 2025 and an uncertain and unprecedented climate, Neighborhood Villages is as committed as ever to taking care of those who take care of young children.
Policy Pulse #8
In each issue of the Policy Pulse, you will find an overview of what’s happening with Massachusetts and national child care policy and information on what you can do to take action and join the movement for a transformed early education and care system. January brought a new federal administration, the start of the new state and federal legislative sessions, and the release of the Governor’s FY26 budget proposal.