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 the city might pursue.

Why it matters: family child care provides infant‑toddler care that many working parents rely on and is frequently run by immigrant women, the witnesses said. Providers argued that when vouchers and public supports fall short, both providers and low‑income families are harmed.

What providers told councilors - Kiari Mejia (family child care provider) said she struggles to enroll children who require vouchers and that, because she does not operate through an agency, she lacks pipeline and referral supports: “If you come into the game a little later in the year, it’s almost like you really are on your own.” - Bridal Cordero (infant educator, Dorchester) said many providers are immigrant women who support their communities and face rising costs: “There is a great deal of fear. In Boston communities… people are afraid to leave their homes and go to work.” - Alejandra Tejeda (family child care coordinator, SEIU Local 509) summarized recurring issues reported to the union: landlords adding insurance or rent, higher property taxes for homeowner‑providers, and utility bills that have spiked in the last two years.

Providers and advocates described the voucher situation as a major driver of reduced revenue. Councilor Breeden asked for specifics; a union representative told the committee the so‑called voucher freeze has been in effect in a partial form for close to two years and that families may face long wait lists through the state resource-and-referral system. Boston officials said the statewide wait list can be long and that priority is given for specific circumstances such as homelessness.

Costs and examples - Rent: providers reported landlords increasing rent after learning a provider operates a program in the unit; several speakers described examples of landlords adding $200–$800 per month in rent in conversations with providers. - Insurance: witnesses said specialty liability insurance for family child care has become harder to find and more expensive as some niche brokers exited the market; estimates presented to the committee ranged from “a couple hundred dollars a year” to larger increases depending on coverage. - Utilities and property taxes: providers said utilities and property tax increases are recurring pressures, particularly for homeowner‑providers who run businesses from their residences.

City response and next steps City staff from the Office of Early Childhood told the committee they maintain a licensing database and run training and stabilization programs; staff said they can deploy targeted outreach and have developed landlord education materials intended to correct myths about home‑based family child care. Staff also said the city can improve data collection on which providers are at risk and invited collaboration with unions and provider networks to refine outreach.

Quotes and attribution: All quoted material in this article comes from witnesses who testified at the Sept. 18 hearing and are attributed to the speakers who made the statements during the proceeding.

Ending: Councilors said the hearing is an early step toward identifying local policy options — from targeted utility or rental relief to landlord incentives and landlord education — and that further data collection and discussion with state partners will be necessary to shape any concrete proposals.