Are you ready to advocate for young children, families, and early educators? 

The Massachusetts fiscal year 2022 budget is nearing completion.

Right now, a conference committee is reviewing and resolving differences between the House and Senate budgets. 

What’s at stake? For early education, there is a $44 million difference between the two budgets. 

You can help by contacting the committee’s six members. They are: 

• Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D-Gloucester)

• Representative Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston)

• Representative Todd Smola (R-Warren)

• Senator Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington)

• Senator Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth)

• Senator Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport)

Click here to email the conference committee and ask them to invest in high-quality early education and care and school-age/OST programs in the FY22 state budget.

Help our sector build back stronger, recruit and retain educators, and provide safe and high-quality programs for children and families. Every public dollar invested makes a difference. Advocate now!

Strategies for Children’s advocacy message to the Conference Committee highlights all early education and care line items that are conference-able (meaning they have different amounts of funding in the House and Senate budgets), including:

• Rate Increase for Early Educators (3000-1042): House funding, $20,000,000. Helps address the ongoing workforce shortage by increasing salaries for educators in subsidized programs.

• Sliding Fee Scale Reserve (3000-1044): Senate funding, $8,950,000. For a reserve to meet the costs of parent fees for state subsidized early education and care providers.

• Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (3000-6025): Senate funding, $10,000,000. Sustains and grows this local, public-private collaborative model of high-quality preschool expansion.

• Early Childhood Mental Health (3000-6075): Senate funding, $3,000,000

• And more!

Be sure to contact the conference committee members today, and spread the word to your networks.