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Facts In Action
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Inside
the State House:
FY2003
Outlook is Bleak
 With
revenue projections dropping almost daily, and cuts still being
made to the current fiscal year's budget, the outlook for the FY2003
Massachusetts state budget
looks bleak, to say the least. Despite these challenges, however,
early care and education advocates are working hard to hold the
line and in some cases increase state funds that provide subsidies,
quality improvements, and other critical services related to early
care and education. If Acting Governor Jane Swift's proposal is
any indication, early care and education may fare relatively well
in these difficult fiscal times, but out-of-school time services
(before and after-school care) may have a rougher road ahead. In
her proposal, House 1-A, Swift proposed the following:
- A
reduction of as much as $5 million statewide for Community Partnerships
for Children, the Commonwealth's pre-kindergarten program
administered by the Department of Education (DOE), and changes
in the program's language to target communities based on their
subsidy waitlists.
- Elimination
of several line items providing support for community based after-school
programs, including Targeted Cities, an Executive Office of
Health and Human Services program, and a community-based grant
program housed at the DOE. Some programs at the DOE appear to
have been combined into a larger account, but funding levels aren't
clear.
- Level
funding or small increases for most Office of Child Care Services
early care and education programs, including welfare-related
child care (up $2.4 million), child care for low-income working
families (up $7 million), supportive child care for families involved
with the Department of Social Services (up approximately $100,000),
and child care for teen parents (up just over $1 million).
- No
increase in subsidy reimbursement rates, although providers
are seeking an increase of $11 million statewide for next fiscal
year to improve workforce recruitment, retention, and compensation.
The
Massachusetts House of Representatives is expected to hold a session
to evaluate state revenues the week of April 29, 2002, and take
up its own version of the FY2003 budget the following week.
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Action
Steps
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Contact
your state representative to express your support for early
care and education programs and the critical role they play
for children and families. If you don't know who your legislators
are, you can find out on-line at www.vote-smart.org
or by calling (888) VOTE-SMART.
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For
more information:
about the FY2003 Massachusetts state budget, contact Christine Johnson-Staub
at 617-695-0700 x229, or cjstaub@AssociatedEarlyCareAndEducation.org.
Facts in Action, February 2002
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| Goodbye from the printed version of Facts in Action. |
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