In 2023, MTF released a report which made several recommendations on reforms that should be made to the Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) system to ensure greater system efficiency, family engagement, outcomes for children, and support for providers. CCFA is an integral and complex part of the Commonwealth’s multi-pronged early education and care system, serving over 65,000 children across the state.

MTF's 2024 Massachusetts Competitiveness Index Report is designed to put forward a framework to assess how Massachusetts stacks up compared to other states, key economic and geographic competitors, and itself.

The report looks at 26 different metrics organized into four critical areas:

•Economic Health
•Population and Labor Force Trends
•Business, Employment, and Investment Factors; and
•Resident Life
 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 begins on July 1st, and House and Senate budget negotiators are actively engaging in conversations to craft a compromise budget proposal. The Conference Committee process involves reconciling countless spending, policy, and technical differences between the two bills; and this year, the process will be further impacted by an uncertain fiscal picture for FY 2024 and a more constrained revenue outlook in FY 2025.

MTF’s latest chartbook, The Importance of Commonwealth Cares for Children, provides a comprehensive overview of this critical new childcare program, including:

On March 7th, Senate Bill 2697, An Act ensuring affordability, readiness and learning for our youth and driving economic development was released from the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Senators have until Monday, March 11th to review the legislation and file amendments, debate will be on Thursday, March 14th.

The Healey-Driscoll administration released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget proposal on January 24, 2024. The Governor’s budget proposes $58.13 billion in total on-budget spending including $1.3 billion in spending supported by income surtax revenues directed to education and transportation programs. The proposal increases funding over the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) by $2.1 billion (3.7 percent), when including surtax revenue allocations.