Teacher and director urge state to fund childcare vouchers as 32,000 families wait

Suzanne Stillinger, lead teacher and co‑director at New Village and an early childhood policy fellow at Teach Plus Massachusetts, told the committee that many children are waiting years for childcare vouchers. Using a classroom example she named “Penny,” Stillinger said Penny joined the voucher wait list at age 2 and would still be waiting as she reached kindergarten, illustrating the urgency of expanding vouchers for working families.

Stillinger told the committee there are “over 32,000 families on the voucher wait list” and argued that investing in early childhood access and care yields strong returns. “Invest in early childhood access and care which has a proven 500% return on investment,” she said, and asked lawmakers to avoid balancing budgets by cutting cash assistance and childcare programs.

Committee members thanked Stillinger and several representatives noted personal connections (for example, references to pre‑K lotteries). The witness framed the funding request as both an economic and educational priority: without care, parents cannot work or finish education, and programs that absorb children at no cost risk financial unsustainability without state support.

No formal committee action was taken during the testimony; witnesses asked the committee to consider prioritizing childcare vouchers and related cash assistance in FY27 budget deliberations.