| Overview | Health and Nutrition |
State policies that promote health, education, and strong families can help the early development and school readiness of America's youngest citizens. This profile highlights Massachusetts's policy choices alongside other contextual data related to the well-being of young children.
Trends1
Between 2001 and 2006, Massachusetts increased access to health insurance and decreased it for child care subsidies. Income eligibility for health insurance for young children increased from 200 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Income eligibility for child care subsidies dropped from 198 percent in 2001 to 175 percent in 2006, and more than 16,000 eligible children are on the waiting list for a subsidy. Funding for the state prekindergarten program declined by a third, from more than $100 million in 2002 to $63 million in 2006, although the 2007 budget does include a slight increase in funding for pre-k.
Recent Developments1
Massachusetts’ 2007 budget increased funding to its state Head Start supplement ($1 million) and funded a preschool pilot program ($4.6 million). The state also increased funding for child care provider reimbursement rates ($12.5 million) and early childhood educator scholarships ($3 million). Massachusetts appropriated $250,000 to develop a quality rating system for teachers participating in its new preschool pilot program.
| Health and Nutrition |
Data Notes and Sources
Last Updated: September 24, 2009
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- The trends and recent developments come from personal communications with state advocates, administrators, and policymakers. The following publications were also consulted:
Donna Cohen Ross, Aleya Horn, and Caryn Marks, Health Coverage for Children and Families in Medicaid and SCHIP: State Efforts Face New Hurdles: A 50-State Update on Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2008, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, January 2008 http://www.kff.org (accessed April 11, 2008).
W. Steven Barnett, Jason Hustedt, Allison Friedman, Judi Stevenson Boyd, and Pat Ainsworth, The State of Preschool 2007, National Institute for Early Education Research, 2007.
Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2007: Some Steps Forward, More Progress Needed, National Women's Law Center, September 2007.
National Center for Children in Poverty, Map and Track State Initiatives for Young Children and Families, 2000 Edition, 2000
National Conference of State Legislatures, Child Care and Early Education Legislation Highlights 2005, June 2006
National Conference of State Legislatures, Child Care and Early Education Legislation Highlights 2006, unpublished draft
National Governors Association, Front and Center education articles, 2006, http://www.nga.org
ZERO TO THREE, The Baby Monitor, 2006 Policy and Advocacy News Archive, http://www.zerotothree.org - State data were calculated from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (the March supplement) of the Current Population Survey from 2007, 2008, and 2009, representing information from calendar years 2006, 2007, and 2008. NCCP averaged three years of data because of small sample sizes in less populated states. The national data were calculated from the 2009 data, representing information from the previous calendar year.
- State data were calculated from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (the March supplement) of the Current Population Survey from 2006, 2007, and 2008, representing information from calendar years 2005, 2006, and 2007. NCCP averaged three years of data because of small sample sizes in less populated states. The national data were calculated from the 2008 data, representing information from the previous calendar year.
- National and state data were calculated from the 2007 American Community Survey.