RECAP of the December 10, 2025, EEC Board Meeting: Updates on EEC’s Strategic Action Plan, Family Support Programs, and the Family Advisory Council

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.

The primary topics of this month’s Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) Board meeting included updates on EEC’s: (1) Strategic Action Plan, (2) Family Support Programs, and (3) Family Advisory Council.

For additional details on any of the meeting topics, view the slides here or watch the recording on YouTube. 

Here’s what you need to know…

If You are a Provider:

1. Commissioner Amy Kershaw announced that the application for the Large Capital Grant for early education and out-of-school-time programs is now live. Funding supports renovations and construction projects to expand capacity and improve the quality and accessibility of learning environments for children, ensuring they have safe, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate spaces to learn, play, and grow. You can find more information about it here.

If You are a Parent/Guardian or Child Care Advocate:

1. Commissioner Kershaw announced that the EEC Advisory Council met on December 4, 2025 to discuss the Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) sliding fee scale. They were joined by researchers from Child Trends and Lynch Research Associates. The council is in the initial stages of evaluating how to create a more simplified structure to support children and families. It also welcomed three new members: Nicole Altieri, Senator Pavel Payano, and Dr. Ingrid Allardi. You can find a recording of the meeting and the meeting slides here. 

2. Commissioner Kershaw announced that EEC applied for funding from the national Early Childhood Funders Collaborative to support the work of the EEC Inter-Agency Task Force. Out of 70 proposals, EEC was one of six selected and will receive $250,000.

3. Commissioner Kershaw announced that EEC applied for the Preschool Development Grant, a competitive one-year grant provided by the federal government. They should hear back at the end of the year on whether they will receive those funds. For the last three years, EEC has received funding from the Preschool Development Grant, which enabled it to move forward key priorities, including the IT modernization project, internal behavior health support for the agency, and the Family Advisory Council.

4. Commissioner Kershaw announced that the regulation increasing CCFA initial eligibility to families making up to 85% of the state median income (SMI) will become effective on January 1, 2026. Previously, initial eligibility was limited to families making up to 50% of SMI. EEC will share more information regarding this change in January.

5. Commissioner Kershaw welcomed Dan Maltzman as the new Director of the Background Check Unit.

6. The EEC Board voted to approve the 2026-2030 Strategic Action Plan, which takes effect on January 1, 2026. The Strategic Action Plan includes EEC’s 5-year goals and aligned activities based on stakeholder engagement, research, and its current work. It will be the EEC’s blueprint for moving key initiatives and priorities forward over the next five years. EEC will continually assess the strategies and projects included in the plan and respond to emerging opportunities, needs, and requirements. They will also revisit the plan with the Board annually and as needed. For more information on the Strategic Action Plan see November’s EEC Board Meeting Recap here.

7. EEC reviewed the family and community support it provides through the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE) network. CFCEs provide free family and community support to families. They are located across 350 cities and towns in Massachusetts and operated by 80 grantees. These local hubs for early learning are designed to strengthen family engagement and promote early childhood development. EEC provides over $11.5 million to grantees ranging between $37,415 and $936,997. CFCE’s core programs include the following:

   • Playgroups with a facilitator;

   • Referrals to services like early intervention, special education, licensed child care and out-of-school time programs, partner agencies, and more;

   • Developmental screenings; and

   • Parent education on early literary, child development, and social and emotional learning.

   In Fiscal Year 2025, CFCEs engaged with families over 380,000 times, provided nearly 73,000 referrals, and delivered almost 6,000 developmental screenings. Due to the nature of its programming, site-to-site limitations, and to honor family comfort, CFCEs don’t collect personal identifying information.

   CFCEs partner with various organizations like ParentChild+, Children’s Trust, and family resource centers to help support families. They also collaborate with organizations like the Boston Children’s Museum and Reach Out and Read. Children’s Trust’s Executive Director Jennifer Valenzuela shared information about her organization and discussed the importance of CFCEs and its partnership with them. Children’s Trust is a public-private organization focused on preventing child abuse and neglect, helping the workforce that work with families, and strengthening the system impacting them. Over the years, Children’s Trust has provided direct funding and intensive technical assistance to seven CFCEs. Moving forward, Children’s Trust will be shifting the funding they provide to the seven CFCEs to provide broader technical assistance across all the CFCEs and family resource centers. They are also thinking about providing additional support like seed funding for new programs and emergency funding for families' concrete needs. They want to create a more predictable experience for families regardless of which CFCE they attend in the state, enable staff to feel supported, and have a unified approach around data and learning. CFCE staff from Lynn Public Schools, Cape Cod Children’s Place, and ParentChild+ Making Opportunities Count also shared information about their CFCEs, the programs they provide, and the impact they have on children and families.

   EEC is planning to rebrand the CFCE Network to create a unified CFCE brand that clearly communicates core services and ensures all families know where to go for consistent, accessible information, parent and child activities, and support. The rebanding process will include the following:

   • Clarification of programs;

   • Revision of mission and vision statement;

   • Establishment of a new CFCE name; and

   • Internal and public rollout of the brand.

   Currently, EEC is working with a vendor to conduct research such as a landscape analysis, which includes surveys and focus groups with grantees and families. EEC plans to continue this research and analysis until the winter of 2026. Next, they will develop outreach and training materials and provide support to grantees and EEC staff on the changes. EEC expects to publicly launch the unified brand in the summer of 2026.

8. EEC provided an update on the Family Advisory Council (FAC). EEC is working to establish a FAC to formally give families a seat at the table to help inform and improve EEC’s work from policy to programs. The FAC will be an inclusive and responsive team that elevates parents’ voices and will include families from across the Commonwealth, including parents, caregivers, and guardians of children currently enrolled in early education, residential, and out-of-school-time programs. It will have diverse representation based on lived experience with EEC and other public systems, income, language, and geography. EEC shared the goals of the FAC but also stressed that they are not cemented and that the FAC members will help develop the goals. The following are the current goals for the FAC:

   • Provide a forum for families to offer input on EEC policies and programs at the state level;

   • Promote family engagement in the decision-making process to improve the mixed delivery system;

   • Inform and advocate for state-level resource allocation that supports high-quality programming;

   • Strengthen partnerships between families, providers, and state agencies; and

   • Identify the unique needs and challenges faced by diverse families in accessing and benefiting from early education.

   The application period will launch this winter and there will be informational sessions for people to learn more about the application process. EEC is seeking applicants who have some familiarity with their programs, mission, and values; an interest in serving their community; and some community leadership and/or EEC programming experience. In early spring of 2026, applications will be reviewed and members will be selected. The FAC will launch in late spring of 2026.

If You are an Early Educator:

1. Commissioner Kershaw announced that EEC received the Demos not Memos Award from US Digital Response for its work on the new educator portal. US Digital Response is an organization that works alongside state and local governments to strengthen essential services through expert support, practical training, and proven digital tools. The educator portal is now live. When the new credential system is completed, it will be moved into the portal.

The next EEC board meeting will be on January 14, 2026 in Boston.