Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Highlights $2 Million to Expand Child Care Options for Working Families

GARDNER — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today highlighted nearly $2 million in investments through the Employer Child Care Innovation Fund to expand access to affordable, reliable child care for working families and help employers attract and retain workers.

 The four inaugural projects bring together employers, child care providers and community organizations to test new approaches including expanded infant care, care during nontraditional work hours, employer-supported child care assistance and new technology to connect families with available care.

“Every parent deserves access to affordable, reliable child care so they can go to work knowing their kids are safe and supported,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These investments are bringing employers and child care providers together to create new options for working families, while helping businesses attract and keep the workers they need.”

“There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to child care, which is why we’re giving communities and employers the flexibility to try new ideas,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “These partnerships will help us learn what works, expand successful approaches and make it easier for families across Massachusetts to find the care they need.”

“Child care can look different across families, communities and industries, which is why it is so important to test new approaches and learn directly from the people putting them into practice,” said Education Secretary Steve Zrike. “Today, we heard how these inaugural projects are responding to the needs of working families and employers, and how what we learn from them can help identify promising approaches that could be adapted and scaled across Massachusetts.”

Launched in 2025 as a $2.5 million pilot, the Employer Child Care Innovation Fund supports employer-driven approaches to addressing child care and workforce challenges. In July, the Healey-Driscoll Administration awarded $1.9 million to four inaugural grantees testing approaches including expanded infant care, care during nontraditional work hours, employer-funded child care assistance, and new technology to connect families with available care. The pilot is designed to identify effective approaches that can be adapted and scaled across the Commonwealth.

 "The Healey-Driscoll Administration appreciates the collaborations forged through this initiative, bringing together employers and community partners to expand access to affordable, quality child care services in Massachusetts," said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones. "Visiting Heywood Hospital with the United Way of North Central MA illustrates one of the many partnerships we celebrate through this grant funding to deliver an essential infrastructure that supports working families in this region and regions across Massachusetts."

“Any parent knows there’s truth to the saying that it takes a village to raise a child; making sure working parents have a village around them strengthens families, businesses and our economy,” said Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley. “These partnerships are testing creative, locally driven solutions that support working families, strengthen child care businesses and help Massachusetts remain a great place to build a career and a business.”

“The innovative approaches we heard about today provide an important opportunity to learn directly from employers, providers and families about what can work in their sector,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw. “Employers have an important role to play in addressing child care challenges, and their engagement will help us continue to build a system that better supports families, strengthens the workforce and meets the needs of communities across Massachusetts.”

"Building a child care system that works for every family in Massachusetts requires more partners at the table, and employers are essential among them," said Board of Early Education and Care Chair Paul Belsito. "What makes this fund so valuable is that it generates real evidence about what works — in different industries, in different regions, for different families. The Board looks forward to learning from these grantees as we continue strengthening a system that families, providers and businesses all depend on."

"These grants show that child care is part of our economy's infrastructure," said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). "The Senate was proud to invest in this work because it reflects the innovative, creative thinking that we need to make sure every child has a leg up, and every parent can jump back into the workforce. I applaud Governor Healey and her administration for prioritizing this program for Massachusetts residents.

“In Massachusetts, we understand how essential access to affordable, high-quality child care is for both our families and our workforce,” said Representative Ken Gordon, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. “This program will expand access to early education, giving more of our youngest learners the opportunity to thrive while supporting working families by helping parents return to the workforce.”

The four inaugural grantees are:

• Berkshire United Way: $400,000
• Community Day Care Center of Lawrence, Inc. (dba The Community Group): $550,000
• Seaport Orthodontics (dba Seaport Smiles): $150,000
• United Way of North Central Massachusetts: $800,000

Today’s event was hosted by Heywood Healthcare, a partner in the United Way of North Central Massachusetts project, which is working with regional employers and community partners to expand employer-supported child care options for workers in North Central Massachusetts.

The Employer Child Care Innovation Fund advances the work of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Inter-Agency Early Education and Child Care Task Force, which is focused on making high-quality child care more affordable and accessible across the state. 

The initiative complements broader state investments to strengthen the child care system, including continued support for the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) operational grants, the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership initiative (CPPI), and $1.2 billion in child care financial assistance to help approximately 72,000 children and their families afford care.

Statements of Support

Alanna Mallon, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Corporation Foundation 
“The Employer Child Care Innovation Fund demonstrates what's possible when the public and private sectors work together to solve workforce challenges. These grants will support innovative partnerships that help working families access reliable child care while strengthening employers' ability to recruit and retain talent. We are proud to partner with the Healey-Driscoll Administration, the Early Education and Child Care Task Force co-chairs and the Department of Early Education and Care to move this investment from vision to implementation and look forward to supporting these projects as they create lasting impact across Massachusetts.” 

Tom Weber, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education 
“Employers across Massachusetts tell us the same thing: they cannot hire and keep the workers they need when families cannot find quality child care," said Tom Weber, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education. "The Employer Child Care Innovation Fund pilot program and inaugural grantees offer practical solutions. Shared-cost arrangements, direct subsidies, care during nontraditional hours. These models can be of value to employers in any industry, and demonstrate the potential benefit for the Massachusetts business community as well as the overall workforce and economic competitiveness of the Commonwealth."

JD Chesloff, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable 
“Child care is not only a family issue—it is a workforce and competitiveness issue for Massachusetts. What makes the Employer Child Care Innovation Fund so promising is that it empowers employers and community partners to develop solutions that reflect the real needs of their workers and their regions. The Massachusetts Business Roundtable is grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for its leadership and partnership on this initiative, and we are excited to learn from these pilots and identify approaches that can be scaled across the Commonwealth.”

Rozanna Penney, President and CEO of Heywood Healthcare 
“We are grateful the Healey-Driscoll Administration chose to bring this announcement to Heywood Healthcare. Rural hospitals live and die by their workforce, and our workforce is made up of parents, most of them women, doing everything they can to show up for their patients and their kids at the same time. Nearly seven in ten of our employees told us cost is their biggest barrier to childcare, and almost half have had to take unexpected time off because they couldn’t find care that day. Those aren’t just numbers to us, they’re our nurses, our techs, our front desk staff, trying to hold two things together at once. This investment tells them that’s noticed, and that someone is working on it alongside them. As the largest employer in this region, we hope it also becomes a model other communities can build on. That means something in a community like ours.”

Kory Eng, President and CEO of United Way North Central Mass 
The Employers & Childcare Coalition of North Central Massachusetts is committed to increasing economic opportunity for working families and a stronger workforce for local employers with our pilot, “Smart Share Child Care,” an employer-supported shared funding model that will make childcare more affordable while increasing the financial investment in the region’s childcare marketplace. This grant will provide parents with better access to quality childcare options, our employer partner Heywood Healthcare with a more productive workforce, and providers with the capacity to increase the quality and quantity of childcare services.”

Dr. Ella Osborn, Owner/Orthodontist of Seaport Orthodontics  
"Practices our size have never been able to offer childcare support on our own. This grant allows six independently owned dental and healthcare practices to do together what none of us could do alone, and to put meaningful help in the hands of the people who have built our teams. For our employees raising young children, that is the difference between getting by and being genuinely supported."

Katherine Von Haefen, President and CEO or Berkshire United Way  
“We are so thrilled for this opportunity for Berkshire County families and employers.  We know that finding affordable childcare is a huge issue for too many of our local households and this opportunity will allow for innovative ways to provide support to our important hospitality industry and to Greylock Federal Credit Union employees.”

Maria Gonzalez Moeller, CEO of The Community Group 
“Access to affordable, high-quality child care is one of the most significant challenges facing working families today. When parents have reliable child care, children benefit from strong early learning experiences, families have the opportunity to return to work or advance their careers, employers benefit from a more stable and engaged workforce, and our local economy grows stronger. We’re incredibly grateful to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for investing in this innovative partnership, which will help families thrive.”

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