§ 2 — Early education and care department; duties

Section 2. There shall be in the executive office of education a department of early education and care, in this chapter called the department, which shall be the state agency responsible for compliance with early education and care services under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-193), or any successor federal statute. The department shall be the state education agency for the purposes of early education and care services under federal law. The department shall seek, apply for and encourage the use of any federal funds for early education and care services, and shall facilitate the coordination of federal, state, and local policies concerning early education and care. The department shall be under the supervision and management of the commissioner of early education and care, in this chapter called the commissioner.The department shall:--(a) be the lead agency of the commonwealth for administering and providing early education and care programs and services to children;(b) provide early education and care programs and mental health consultation and other support services for children in the commonwealth through grants, contracting for those programs and services, and providing vouchers to participants, and promote the coordination of all such programs and services;(c) license or approve child care centers, school-aged child care programs, family child care homes and large family child care homes, family foster care which is not supervised and approved by a placement agency, placement agencies, group care facilities, or temporary shelter facilities;(d) develop and maintain a current consolidated waiting list for all subsidized early education and care programs, and services in the commonwealth;[ Clause (e) of second paragraph effective until July 1, 2024. For text effective July 1, 2024, see below.](e) establish and develop a schedule for revising: (1) a rate structure for voucher and contracted payments to providers of subsidized early education and care programs and services on behalf of low-income and other at-risk children; and (2) a sliding fee scale for participants in those programs. A public hearing under chapter 30A and the approval of the board shall be required before the establishment or revision of the rate structure and sliding fee scale;[ Clause (e) of second paragraph as amended by 2024, 140, Sec. 26 effective July 1, 2024. See 2024, 140, Sec. 264. For text effective until July 1, 2024, see above.](e) establish and develop a schedule for revising: (1) a rate structure for voucher and contracted payments to early education and care providers that enroll children receiving child care financial assistance, which shall be informed by the cost of providing high-quality early education and care to such children in conformity with federal and state laws, regulations and quality and safety standards and any other relevant factors; and (2) a sliding fee scale for families receiving child care financial assistance, which shall be updated within 1 year of the department expanding income eligibility for the child care financial assistance program under subsection (e) of section 13A, or not less than every 5 years, whichever occurs first, to reflect affordability standards for participating families; provided, however, that recipients of child care financial assistance whose income is not more than 100 per cent of the federal poverty level shall not be charged fees for care; provided further, that the sliding fee scale shall be implemented by applying the scale to the amount that a family's income exceeds 100 per cent of the federal poverty level; provided further, that recipients of child care financial assistance shall not be charged fees for care that exceed 7 per cent of the family's total income; provided further, that prior to the establishment or revision of the rate structure or sliding fee scale, the department shall hold a public hearing under chapter 30A on such establishment or revisions and the board shall approve such establishment or revision; and provided further, that the department shall submit any proposed rate structure or sliding scale fee to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives not less than 60 days prior to implementation;(f) manage and implement the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program, established in section 13, that may be phased in over a period of time as determined by the board, and ensure the universal accessibility to the program by using the sliding fee scale developed for early education and care programs;(g) after a public hearing, adopt criteria including income eligibility requirements, for determining eligibility for an early education and care program or service, including the universal pre-kindergarten program under this chapter and develop a schedule for revising such criteria. Income eligibility requirements shall include a maximum allowable income for working families;(h) monitor and evaluate on an ongoing basis all early education and care programs and services, including program outcomes in meeting the developmental and educational needs of all children;(i) analyze and evaluate all budget requests for early education and care programs and services, including requests from secretaries, departments, agencies, or other offices within the commonwealth and make recommendations to the secretary of education, general court, appropriate secretaries, departments, agencies, or other offices regarding coordination and approval of those budget requests;(j) lease, purchase, hold and dispose of personal and real property it considers necessary to carry out this chapter;(k) seek to increase the availability of early education and care programs and services and encourage all providers of those programs and services to work together to create an array of options allowing families to select programs that fit with their schedules;(l) provide information and referral to persons seeking early education and care programs and services;(m) work in conjunction with the department of transitional assistance to obtain federal reimbursement under the federal Social Security Act for all participants in publicly-funded early education and care programs and services who are eligible;(n) promote the development of early education and care services for children by seeking and accepting federal grants as well as assisting other agencies of the commonwealth and local agencies to take full advantage of all federal funds available for those services;(o) provide technical assistance and consultation to providers and potential providers of early education and care services;(p) facilitate the development of the early education and care workforce, and, when appropriate, provide for training programs and professional development for persons offering early education and care programs and services;(q) establish and regularly update: (1) a comprehensive database of early childhood educators and providers, hereinafter referred to as the educator database, for the purpose of enhancing the workforce development system; and (2) a comprehensive database of children both waiting for and receiving early education and care services, in this chapter called the student database, that is compatible with relevant databases at the department of elementary and secondary education and the executive office of health and human services; and(r) collect and disseminate information to assist parents in nurturing their children's development and education. This information shall be made widely available in written form and accessible through the department's website, in English and other commonly spoken languages in the commonwealth.(s) plan for and address the unique needs of families with infants and toddlers, including providing parent education, early literacy services and meaningful opportunities for families not enrolled in early education and care to support their children's development.(t) subject to appropriation, provide consultation services and workforce development to meet the behavioral health needs of children in early education and care programs, giving preference to those services designed to prevent expulsions and suspensions.(u) subject to appropriation and notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, assure quality early education and care provided to children through family child care providers by working cooperatively with family child care providers to build upon the existing system and continuously improve the delivery of high quality early education and care services for eligible low income families through providers who have the requisite skills and training.[ Clauses (v) and (w) of second paragraph added by 2024, 140, Sec. 27 effective July 1, 2024. See 2024, 140, Sec. 264.](v) in consultation with the data advisory commission established in section 12B, annually collect data, to the extent feasible, on: (1) the number of for-profit organizations that own or franchise centers in multiple states and operate center-based programs in the commonwealth; (2) the number of center-based programs that are not programs pursuant to subclause (1); (3) the number of early education and care providers serving children and families; (4) the number of employees at early education and care providers, delineated by job position and full-time or part-time designation; (5) pay rates and employer-paid benefits for employees at early education and care providers, delineated by job position and full-time or part-time designation; (6) tuition charged by early education and care providers for full and part-time early education and care, delineated by age group and region; (7) the number of children enrolled by early education and care providers, delineated by region, age, type of care, family income range, race, ethnicity, country of origin, disability status, receipt of early intervention services, primary language of the household and the number of adults in the household; (8) the number of children receiving child care financial assistance, delineated by region, age, family income, race, ethnicity, country of origin, disability status, receipt of early intervention services, primary language of the household and number of adults in the household; (9) the total cost of child care financial assistance provided by the department; (10) the average monthly number of utilized and unutilized contracted slots and vouchers, delineated by region and type of care; and (11) the average monthly number of children on the department's waitlist for child care financial assistance, delineated by region, age, type of care, family income range, race, ethnicity, country of origin, disability status, receipt of early intervention services, primary language of the household and number of adults in the household; provided, however, that the department shall include a summary of the data collected pursuant to this clause in the department's annual report required pursuant to subsection (g) of section 3; and(w) develop, maintain and disseminate a written early education and care informational guide, accessible through the department's website and available in multiple languages, containing resources for parents of newborns, including, but not limited to: (1) information on the short and long-term developmental benefits of a quality early education and care curriculum; (2) the department's role in licensing providers and conducting background record checks and the differences between licensed and unlicensed providers; (3) child care financial assistance eligibility requirements and application process; and (4) the website for families to access an online directory, searchable by geographic location, of licensed child care programs across the commonwealth; provided, however, that the department shall disseminate the guide at accessible locations, including, but not limited to: (A) public libraries; (B) family resource centers; (C) hospitals with maternity services; and (D) birthing centers.