2023 State of Early Education and Care Report - (Re)Building Boston’s Early Education and Care Sector: Supply, Affordability and Quality Needed

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

Report analyzing Boston’s early education and care sector through a supply, affordability, and quality lens, with findings and evidence on demand, workforce-linked constraints, access and quality gaps, and relevant trends. It summarizes key results, introduces policy recommendations to expand public investment, strengthen UPK access for 3- and 4-year-olds, and improve data systems for equity, tracking, and utilization. Methods, endnotes, and structured main findings support the conclusions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Letter from the Mayor

Introduction

Summary of Findings

Main Findings

Demand

Supply

Gaps: The Access Gap

Gaps: The Quality Gap

Affordability

Supply Trends

Policy Recommendations

Methods

Demand

Supply

Age Group Adjustments

Quality

Gaps

Trend Analysis

Endnotes

2023 STATE OF EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE REPORT (Re)Building Boston’s Early Education and Care Sector: Supply, Affordability and Quality Needed BOSTON BIRTH TO EIGHT COLLABORATIVE ABOUT THE BOSTON OPPORTUNITY AGENDA The Boston Opportunity Agenda (BOA) is a public/private partnership that works urgently and strategically to transform the Boston education landscape from cradle to career. Our focus is on removing the systemic barriers that create unacceptable outcomes and lack of opportunity for historically oppressed and economically disadvantaged populations and creating a just, equitable education system. ABOUT THE BOSTON BIRTH TO EIGHT COLLABORATIVE Convened by the Boston Opportunity Agenda and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, the Birth to Eight Collaborative includes parents and more than 200 representatives from early education centers, family child care, nonprofit organizations, schools, public health, philanthropy, higher education and medical institutions. We focus on ensuring all young children are ready for sustained success in kindergarten and beyond. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The lead authors would like to thank members of the Boston Opportunity Agenda’s Birth to Eight Collaborative Data Committee for informing and revising this work. This report would not have been possible without the support and partnership of the City of Boston’s Office of Early Childhood (OEC), the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, the Boston Foundation, Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, and the Boston Planning and Development Agency. We are thankful to the members of the Birth to Eight Collaborative’s Data Committee who gave substantial feedback to delineate the scope and final version of this publication: Karley Ausiello (United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley); Rosanna M. Batista (East Boston Social Centers, Inc.); Danubia Camargos Silva (The Boston Foundation); Ayesha Cammaerts (Boston Children’s Hospital); Milan Chuttani (Vital Village); Peter Ciurczak (Boston Indicators); TeeAra Dias (Boston Public Schools); Turahn Dorsey (Eastern Bank Foundation); Titus DosRemedios (Strategies for Children); Audrey Gallo (Education Development Center); Christina Kim (Boston Planning & Development Agency); Kimberly Lucas (Northeastern University); Antoniya Marinova (The Boston Foundation); Kristin McSwain (Office of Early Childhood-City of Boston); Adrienne Murphy (Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care); Wendy Robeson (Wellesley Centers for Women); Elizabeth Walczak (Boston Opportunity Agenda); Ashley White (Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation); and Wayne Ysaguirre (CAYL Institute) . Cover Photo: Hispanolistic/ iStock © 2023 by the Boston Foundation. All rights reserved. (Re)Building Boston’s Early Education and Care Sector: Supply, Affordability and Quality Needed AUTHORS Fernanda Q. Campbell, Ph. D. , Boston Opportunity Agenda Paula Gaviria Villarreal, MPP, Office of Early Childhood, City of Boston Pratima A. Patil, A. M. , Ed. M. , Boston Opportunity Agenda Birth to Eight Collaborative Data Committee EDITOR Sandy Kendall, The Boston Foundation DESIGN Kate Canfield, Canfield Design MAY 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 LETTER FROM THE MAYOR 4 INTRODUCTION 6 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Glossary 8 MAIN FINDINGS Demand Supply Gaps: The Access Gap Gaps: The Quality Gap Affordability Supply Trends 22 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Advocate for increased and sustained public investment in the early education and care field. 2. Continue to invest in and expand UPK for 3-and 4-year-olds. 3. Building on UPK’s work, create a Boston initiative that expands access to high-quality early education and care for infants and toddlers. 4. Leverage the new City of Boston’s Office of Early Childhood to define indicators and house data for tracking and improving Boston’s early education and care field. Advance equity in data collection, access

FAQs

What is the main focus of the report?

The report focuses on Boston’s early education and care sector, examining supply, affordability, and quality to understand persistent barriers and needed improvements.

How does the report frame the childcare crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic?

It describes a far-reaching childcare crisis and notes that, even where licensed supply may appear to recover, workforce shortages continue to affect enrollment and access.

What policy actions does the report recommend?

Recommendations include increased and sustained public investment, continued expansion of UPK for 3- and 4-year-olds, creating new initiatives for infants and toddlers, and strengthening the city’s data indicators and tracking to advance equity.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys