Photo: Alyssa Haywoode for Strategies for Children
On Friday, July 7, 2017, the Massachusetts Legislature passed the state’s fiscal year 2018 budget. The budget calls for $40.2 billion in spending, according to MassLive.com. That’s an increase of $1 billion over last year.
Funding highlights for early education and care include:
• $15 million for a workforce rate reserve
• $200,000 for preschool planning grants, and
• $1 million for Reach Out and Read
Total FY’18 funding for early education will be higher than FY’17 levels, but still several million dollars lower than the budgets that the House and Senate approved just a few months ago.
The next step in the budget process: The FY’18 budget awaits Governor Charlie Baker’s signature.
Show your support for the early education workforce: email the Governor now or call his office at: 617.725.4005.
For more information visit the Strategies for Children state budget webpage, or contact Titus DosRemedios at tdosremedios@strategiesforchildren.org.
Eye on Early Education is a blog of Strategies for Children, an organization that works to ensure that Massachusetts invests the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs that prepare them for success in school and life. The blogger, 
eyeonearlyeducation.org 
[…] in Massachusetts, we’ve made recent progress on early education quality and funding, with an important focus on the early education workforce, and a commitment to serve all children […]