Daycare in Massachusetts is of high-quality and highly regulated. Twenty-nine percent of the state’s child care centers are nationally accredited compared to the national average of ten percent. Parents are lucky to have good choices available for care. Due to strict regulations, as long as a family can find a certified center or family child care center (home daycare), they can normally rest assured that their child will be in a safe and clean environment.
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The regulations are demanding for the daycare facilities, however. There must be a worker for every three children and a maximum of seven children in a classroom. Workers must complete 20 hours of professional development each year, and are the highest paid in the country. High standards and high pay make Massachusetts the most expensive state for daycare. The average cost is upwards of $12,000 a year or more for a four year-old in a center or an infant in a home daycare. This comes out to 16 percent of a family’s income or 59 percent of a single mother’s.
More than half of the families in the state have both parents in the work force creating a large demand for care. There are about 3,000 centers and 8,500 home daycares. The number of potential children needing care is close in number to the amount of available spaces. Parents often put their children on waiting lists before they are born in order to ensure a spot.
Parenting Magazine ranked Boston as number three in the country for their article “Best Cities for Families in 2011.” They cited access to great healthcare in both Children’s Hospital in Boston and Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and quality public schools, where districts spent over double per student of the national average.
Massachusetts is a great area of history, culture and education. There are many sites of Revolutionary War history including the U.S.S. Constitution and Lexington and Concord. The Children’s Museum, Aquarium, Boston Pops orchestra, and major sports teams provide a wealth of different activities to satisfy the interests of any child.
While it does come at a price, parents in Massachusetts are lucky to have access to quality daycare and education opportunities for their children as well as a wide variety of fun activities.
