JALSA Submits Testimony in Support of Common Start Childcare Legislation

October 17, 2023

Dear Chairs Lewis and Garlick:

The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA) is a membership-based non-profit organization based in Boston, with thousands of members and supporters statewide. Guided by Jewish teachings and values, we are devoted to the defense of civil rights, the preservation of constitutional liberties, and the passionate pursuit of social, economic, environmental, and racial justice for all people.

JALSA wishes to offer its testimony in strong support of S.301 / H.489, An Act providing affordable and accessible high-quality early education and care to promote child development and well-being and support the economy in the Commonwealth, the Common Start bill.

JALSA is proud to be a steering committee member of the Common Start Coalition in support of S.301 / H.489. Amid the childcare crisis our Commonwealth is facing, Massachusetts has not only a profound economic incentive but, just as importantly, a moral imperative to provide access to affordable, high-quality childcare. Tens of thousands of parents and caregivers in Massachusetts – mostly women – have been driven out of the workforce due to the lack of affordable childcare. It is simply immoral that more than 20,000 children in Massachusetts languish on a waiting list for a childcare subsidy, even under the current limited eligibility criteria.

Our Jewish values teach us that everyone deserves an education, especially early education. In fact, Judaism insists that learning should be made accessible to all, and is a communal responsibility. A society which reflects this ideal is impossible without equal access to affordable, accessible, high-quality early education and childcare. Proverbs 22:6 states the importance of early education as follows: “Train a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Research has corroborated this idea, showing that high-quality early education has long-lasting effects, even into adulthood.

Ultimately, the Common Start legislation will help reduce the cost of high-quality childcare for families. Further, the bill will raise the salaries of early educators, who are disproportionately women of color, and bring us nearer to closing the racial wage gap for providers of color. In short, access to affordable, high-quality childcare is a vital matter of economic and racial justice, and the Common Start legislation will enable Massachusetts to make great strides toward addressing the childcare crisis in a just, sustainable, and comprehensive fashion.

JALSA strongly urges the members of the Joint Committee on Education to report S.301 / H.489, An Act providing affordable and accessible high-quality early education and care to promote child development and well-being and support the economy in the Commonwealth, favorably out of committee.

Sincerely,

Cindy Rowe
President and CEO
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action