Cape child care providers to see increase in state reimbursement rates, with recent vote

Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times
·3 min read

The state Board of Early Education and Care voted on Wednesday to increase rate reimbursements for child care providers who accept state subsidies and vouchers. Providers on the Cape will see the second largest increase among the state's six regions.

Advocates have long said the Cape’s reimbursement rates were not in keeping with the costs of providing care and that they lagged far behind rates in other regions of the state. The unanimous board decision, based on more than 18 months of data research and analysis, proved them right.

The increases would be an effective solution to challenges facing Cape providers to both improve child care access and attract and retain educators, Noëlle Pina, chief of staff at the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, said in an email.

Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw meets June 2 with Cape Cod child care providers at the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce in Centerville. Kershaw faces the camera, at left in navy.
Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw meets June 2 with Cape Cod child care providers at the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce in Centerville. Kershaw faces the camera, at left in navy.

Senior Associate Commissioner for Policy, Research and Data Analytics Amy Checkoway, with the state Early Education and Care Department, said the proposal was based on price-of-care market rate surveys, as well as cost-of-care data collected through primary and secondary sources. Federal rules require states to use a market rate survey or an alternative methodology to set reimbursement rates.

An intention to set more equitable rates

The department worked on an alternative methodology for setting rates that would be more equitable across age groups, geographic regions and type of care provided, Checkoway said.

Massachusetts is now one of six states with federal approval to use an alternative methodology to set reimbursement rates for child care financial assistance, Checkoway said.

Child care center-based rates differ according to age and geographic region. Rates are set for infant, toddler, preschool and school age children. The state's six geographic regions are Boston, Metro Boston, Northeast, Southeast, Central and Western. Reimbursement rates are highest in Boston, Metro Boston and the Northeast, according to the state Executive Office of Education.

Cape Cod among areas to receive rate increases

Rates in the Central, Southeast and Western regions have had the lowest reimbursement rates for years. The Cape belongs to the Southeast region, which spreads from Brockton to Fall River to Provincetown. Wednesday’s decision will mean those three regions will see some of the biggest increases.

On the Cape, the daily per-child reimbursement rate for infants will increase 34%, from $72.37 to $97.18. The rates for toddlers would increase 11%, from $67.89 to $75.48, according to information released from the Executive Office of Education.

The increases will be paid for using $65 million already allocated in the fiscal 2024 budget. Providers will start seeing the increases in February. They will be retroactive to July 1, 2023. The rates package includes three key features: a 5.5% cost of living adjustment, rate consolidation using market rate and cost-of-care data, and raising center-based program rates to 81% of cost of care.

The rate increases were arrived at by first adding a 5.5% across the board cost of living adjustment. Rates were consolidated across the six regions: Boston and Metro Boston were consolidated into one rate. Central, Southeast and Western rates were consolidated into one rate. The Northeast remained separate. Remaining budgetary resources were used to increase center-based rates to 81% of the highest cost of care in the group, according to Adrienne Murphy, director of analytics for the Department of Early Education and Care.

Rates in the Western and Central regions have been raised to the same dollar amount as those in the Southeast.

Reimbursement rates for Boston, Metro Boston and the Northeast received smaller increases percentage-wise but remain higher.  Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw said the proposal moves the state in the right direction by focusing on the cost rather than just the price of care. Final approval of the rate adjustments is subject to bargaining negotiations with Service Employees International Union 509, which represents family child care providers.

Denise Coffey writes about business and tourism. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape child care providers will see increases after state board vote