RECAP of the October 15, 2025, EEC Board Meeting: Updates on Career Pathways Student Survey, FY27 Budget Priorities, C3, and the Family and Educator 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.

The primary topics of this month’s Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) Board meeting were updates on: (1) Career Pathways Student Survey, (2) Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget Priorities, (3) Commonwealth Cares for Children, and (4) the Family and Educator Portals.

For additional detail 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 second round of EEC Capital grants for Family Child Care programs application period is open until October 31, 2025.

2. Commissioner Kershaw announced the launch of the Employer Child Care Innovation Fund. It is a $2.5 million dollar pilot program to help employers expand child care for working families.

3. Commissioner Kershaw announced there are information sessions happening regarding health care benefits for small businesses like child care and early education programs, and EEC’s Executive Office of Technology Services and Security recently announced a digital inclusion program.

If You are an Early Childhood Educator:

1. EEC discussed the Career Pathways student survey findings that was recently completed with Abt Global. The Career Pathways Grant is a grant program that funds 15 public community colleges and Urban College to support educators’ access to courses towards EEC certification. Here are some highlights from the survey:

a. 1285 participants, 89% are employed in an early childhood setting, and 95% identified as female;

b. 56% indicated they enrolled in classes to get certified by EEC and 36% indicated they did so to get promoted at their job;

c. 60% indicated they met with staff or an advisor prior to starting classes for support like help registering for classes or deciding what classes to take;

d. Over 90% indicated that the program prepared them for challenges in the classroom and provided them with knowledge to improve their abilities; and 

e. 77% indicated the desire to take additional classes.

You can find the full report on EEC’s website here.

2. EEC discussed the status of the Educator Portal. They are building the portal based on the current certifications. Once the new rules regarding credentialing are finished they will be added to the portal. In the portal, supervisors will be able to verify work experience online and the teacher qualification team will be able to review certification in one place. EEC has finished beta testing for the educator portal and received positive feedback about the portal. In the next few weeks the portal will be rolled out to the public. The team will then work on fixing any issues and supporting users. EEC will then incorporate its Professional Qualifications Registry into the portal.

If You are Parent/Guardian or Child Care Advocate:

1. Commissioner Kershaw announced that they received substantial feedback from state agency partners regarding EEC’s residential and group home programs. EEC plans to bring revisions to the residential and group home regulations for the Board’s consideration at the next board meeting. Afterward there will be a public comment period.

2. Commissioner Kershaw discussed the federal shutdown. She stated that although a substantial portion of the funds to support the Child Care Financial Assistance program (CCFA) come from federal funds, it is appropriated from state dollars on an annual basis and at this time she does not anticipate any disruption in payments to providers. However, a prolonged shutdown may impact revenues for the state as a whole. Additionally, she stated that Head Start may be disrupted depending on the length of the shutdown. All of the state’s Head Start programs are on different monthly grant renewal dates, which could impact when funding is available to them. EEC is working closely with 6 of the 29 programs that have grant renewal dates in November. There is a Head Start state supplemental grant program, which EEC has used to fill gaps during past shutdowns and is able to do so this year on a temporary basis.

3. Commissioner Kershaw announced that the application period is open for the first round of grants for the apprenticeship grant opportunity, Education Grow ECE. Education Grow ECE will provide awardees up to $100,000 to expand or establish Registered Apprenticeship Programs in the early childhood education sector.

4. Chair Paul Belsito briefly reviewed the Board’s FY27 Budget Priorities and the Board voted to approve the priorities. See below a picture breaking down the priorities.

5. EEC reviewed the responses from the public comment period and the Board voted to maintain the current formula for FY26. During the public comment period EEC received 221 public comments. Among those responses, 75% supported no change to the current formula. EEC discussed several key themes that appeared in the comments such as providers sharing the benefits C3 has enabled them to accomplish, additional areas it should address, and changes that should be made to the program.

EEC will revise the C3 November application to recalculate grant awards for the next 12 months. Monthly payments will adjust based on the new information. Center based programs will need to update their umbrella form. The applications will also have an attestation that ensures that all programs receiving C3 are willing to enroll children receiving child care financial assistance. EEC will make a list of all willing programs publicly available and create an admin review process so programs can report any barriers to CCFA participation. Lastly, EEC is introducing an expectation that 50% of C3 funding be applied to workforce expenditures (salaries, benefits, and one-time stipends or bonuses). EEC will have informational sessions on the changes to C3. 

EEC also shared their plans for FY27 to (1) continue analyzing the public comments received, (2) consider future formula adjustments like making improvements to the equity adjustment and adding explicit supports for quality staff and educator compensation, (3) make sure any changes align with FY27 funding allocation, and (4) return to the Board in Spring 2026 with a proposal for FY27.

6. EEC discussed the status of the Family Portal. The new system will be more simplified and allow families to apply on their own, see their application status, and save their progress and come back later to complete their application. The portal will also have case management functionality. Family Access Administrators will be able to use it to manage the waitlist, review family applications, and record eligibility determinations in one place. EEC has conducted user research with families and counselors. They are currently in beta testing, allowing users to use the system to see if it works and determine what changes need to be made. Next steps include: completing beta testing, incorporating feedback from the testing into their changes, and the initial release of the portal in 2026.

The next EEC Board meeting will be on November 12, 2025 in Boston.