On October 14, 2020, Governor Charlie Baker released a revised budget for fiscal year 2021, totaling $45.5 billion. This is an increase of $900 million over the governor’s January budget proposal.

CommonWealth Magazine reports:

“The high budget is largely driven by excessive spending in MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. It would be paid for with an influx of federal money as well as a $1.3 billion draw from the state’s $3.5 billion rainy day fund.”

“ ‘The rainy day fund is there to support services when it’s raining, and I think most people would agree it’s raining,’ Baker said at a State House press conference.”

The governor’s proposed funding for early education and care largely stayed the same compared to his January budget proposal.

One exception is the $5 million proposal for the workforce development initiative (3000-7066), a reduction from the $8.5 million proposed in January.

The governor is also proposing a new Early Education COVID Recovery Fund (Outside Section 110), to “support future caseload increases and initiatives to improve early education and care.” This fund would have $85.2 million in funding, which would be transferred from child care access accounts (3000-3060, and 3000-4060).

Next, the budget moves to the Legislature – check back soon for updates.

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To recap this year’s budget process, the pandemic has delayed what would have been the usual release of the FY21 budget. Instead, on July 24, 2020, Governor Baker signed into law a supplemental budget for the FY20 fiscal year. This budget included critical funding for

COVID-19 relief for early education and care, including:

• $36 million to cover the costs that the Department of Early Education and Care faced in administering emergency child care for essential workers and for covering parent fees for state-subsidized providers

• $45.6 million in federal CARES Act funding for child care reopening grants, and

• a new $500,000 Early Education and Care Public-Private Trust Fund to provide technical assistance to child care providers in their reopening and recovery efforts.

Advocates, please contact your state legislators to ensure high-quality early education is a priority in the FY21 state budget. And check this blog in the coming weeks for more budget and advocacy updates.

For more information contact Titus DosRemedios at tdosremedios@strategiesforchildren.org, (617) 330-7387.