Document Type
Research Report
Publication Date
3-2026
Abstract
Massachusetts has made notable strides in expanding access to affordable, quality, licensed child care and early education in recent years. Ongoing robust state investment in the Commonwealth Cares for Children Grant Program, activities of the Healey-Driscoll Inter Agency Early Education and Child Care Task Force, and increased income eligibility for child care financial assistance to families with moderate incomes, among other initiatives, all help address persistent barriers to quality education and care at a price families can afford.
Yet the supply of licensed child care for infants, toddlers, and preschool children remains a formidable challenge to meeting the child care and early education needs of families across the state.
Availability of child care and early education matters to parents and caregivers. As stated in 2025 Findings from the Massachusetts Early Childhood Needs Assessment: “Almost universally, caregivers identified availability as their number one priority when looking for a child care setting.” In Massachusetts, “caregivers expressed a preference for child care arrangements that were proximal to their home or work.”
This brief offers geographic analyses to show where estimated demand for child care and early education capacity exceeds current capacity and to inform efforts to expand capacity.
Community Engaged/Serving
Part of the UMass Boston Community-Engaged Teaching, Research, and Service Series. //scholarworks.umb.edu/engage
Recommended Citation
Clayton-Matthews, Alan; Kelleher, Christa M.; Albelda, Randy; Douglass, Anne; and Nsiah-Jefferson, Laurie, "Mapping Child Care and Early Education Capacity to Needs in Massachusetts" (2026). Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy. 72.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cwppp_pubs/72
Text-Only Version for Accessibility
Included in
Community-Based Research Commons, Education Policy Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons
Comments
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