Mayor Kendrys Vasquez. Screenshot: The Instagram page of the Office of the Mayor of City of Lawrence, Massachusetts

Last year, in the middle of the pandemic, former Lawrence, Mass., Mayor Dan Rivera decided to create a $400,000 scholarship program for child care.

The program provided vouchers to low-income families. Some parents were essential workers. And most parents were earning salaries that were essential to their families’ survival.

Lawrence’s City Council approved the investment. But the funding was set to expire on December 31, 2020.

Fast forward to today, and the good news is that Lawrence is still investing in these child care scholarships.

Lawrence’s current mayor, Kendrys Vasquez, announced a two-year reinvestment and an expansion of the program, setting a leadership example that other cities can follow.

Mayor Vasquez knows the need for child care is real. One day when he was having lunch with his chief of staff and economic development director a constituent came up to his table to talk.

“She said, I had to quit my job because I cannot afford childcare, and now all I’m doing is Uber to be able to maintain my family and keep up with our expenses,” Vasquez recalled during a recent Strategies for Children 9:30 Call. The woman was relying on her mother to provide a few hours of child care.

Vasquez is also excited about the research showing that high-quality child care programs can boost children’s academic outcomes.

“If we want people to be able to get back to work,” he says, “it’s important that we provide them with the necessary tools to ensure they can get back to work, and that their child will be safe.”

To do this, Lawrence’s city officials and child care providers continue to work together to make sure that the scholarship program is flexible, accessible, and meets local needs.

One key feature of the program: Lawrence has set its own income eligibility standards – ones that are more generous than Massachusetts’ standards — so that the city can help more families.

“Under state eligibility criteria, parents are only eligible at 50% of the SMI [State Median Income],” according to Maria Gonzalez Moeller, CEO of The Community Group, a local nonprofit child care provider, who also spoke during the 9:30 call. This translates to $65,626 for a family of four on the state’s income eligibility table.

However, in Lawrence’s program, “parents are eligible at up to 110 percent of the SMI, and they can remain in the program at up to 125 percent of SMI, which is significantly different than the state.”

Lawrence also covers families who are enrolled in training programs but aren’t eligible for state support.

Mayor Vasquez wanted to come as close as possible to meeting the national recommendation that the child care fees parents pay should only be 7 percent of their incomes. So the fees for Lawrence’s program run from 8 percent to a high of 10.2 percent when a families’ income is 110 percent of SMI. This puts Lawrence ahead of state and federal policymakers in establishing affordable child care for all.

Vasquez also sees his city’s child care program as an investment in young professionals and young single mothers – and a way to make Lawrence an attractive city for young families.

What’s next?

For advocates, one answer is to share Lawrence’s story with officials in other cities. Lawrence is excited about being a role model and eager to share how it’s getting this work done.