$250,000 in grant funding to support local childcare services

Mayor Kim Janey, the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement (MOWA), and the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), today announced the recipients of grants totaling $250,000 from the Childcare Contribution Fund. In March, MOWA and the BPDA released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to support organizations working to expand childcare services and facilities. Childcare providers, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders were encouraged to apply with plans to promote equitable access to childcare seats. 

The grantees selected represent a variety of neighborhoods, with three city-wide programs and specific sites in the South End, Jamaica Plain, East Boston, and Dorchester. They also represent a range of program types, with three non-profit grantees supporting the childcare sector, two Childcare Centers, and two Family Childcare programs.

“Access to childcare and early education is essential for Boston’s recovery, reopening and renewal,” said Mayor Janey. “Grants from the Childcare Contribution Fund will help expand choices and opportunities for working families across our city.”

Funding for this grant is part of the BPDA's Childcare Contribution fund, collected from development projects in certain neighborhoods. 

A variety of factors were used by the review committee when scoring applications, including the creation of infant and/or voucher seats, the creation of childcare outside of traditional business hours, equitable access for low-income children and children of color, expected outcomes of the program or project, etc. 

Recipients’ projects portrayed a clear and sustainable plan that supports low-income families and children of color. Some of which include expanding existing services to include nonstandard hours, opening new centers to serve more children, targeted recruitment, and providing continuing education for childcare providers. 

The City of Boston and MOWA staff has carefully reviewed the applications of various community organizations and childcare providers and has identified the seven listed below as recipients of funds from the Childcare Contribution fund:

• American Family Child Care
• Community Labor United
• Cribs and Cradles Family Child Care
• East Boston Social Centers
• Ellis Memorial and Eldredge House, Inc.
• Marjeli Family Daycare
• United Way Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley/Shared Services MA 

The Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement has prioritized childcare as a critical economic equity issue for Boston’s families, leading several landmark initiatives. Boston launched a first in the nation citywide childcare survey in 2019, which led to the 2020 Making Childcare Work report, and is again collecting survey responses this year. Also, MOWA and the City of Boston’s Economic Mobility Lab developed the Childcare Entrepreneur Fund, a grant program for family child care providers that helps these educators be confident small business owners. That program launched in 2019 and expanded significantly to provide additional aid during the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, in 2020, MOWA released a report about the state of caregiving during COVID-19, titled Too Much and Not Enough. Other critical work related to children under five years old includes the Boston Opportunity Agenda’s research and reporting about childcare supply, as well as the expansion of pre-kindergarten.

The Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement creates specific programming and opportunities that support three priority areas: economic equity, safety, and empowerment and representation. Some of the office's most recent work includes research on paid parental leave and childcare affordability; a multi-pronged approach to closing the gender pay gaps; reducing the demand for commercial sexual exploitation; and creating specific programming for women entrepreneurs. Learn more here.