Boston hearing: family child care providers say voucher freeze, rent hikes and insurance costs threaten businesses

At a hearing of the Boston City Council’s Committee on Post Audit, Government Accountability, Transparency, and Accessibility on Sept. 18, family child care providers told councilors that a partial state voucher freeze, sudden rent increases and rising insurance and utility bills are putting their home-based businesses at risk.

The witnesses — family child care providers and SEIU Local 509 representatives — said those pressures reduce capacity, force operators to cover costs out of pocket and in some cases push providers to consider leaving the field. “There’s definitely a lot of challenges,” said Kiari Mejia, an in‑home family day care provider, in her opening remarks. Several speakers described families’ difficulty getting vouchers and landlords raising rent once they learn a provider operates a business in the unit.

The committee convened to take testimony on Docket 1439, “an order for a hearing to audit child care investments and financial stability for family child care providers.” Chair Juvia Mejia opened the virtual hearing and said the panel’s goal was to identify supports and incentives…