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Mass. early‑education commission seeks input to sharpen family‑access research priorities
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Summary
At its second meeting, the Data Advisory Commission for the Department of Early Education and Care reviewed EEC research priorities and asked members for feedback on questions about family access, the “cliff effect,” childcare deserts and how to engage external researchers.
The Department of Early Education and Care’s Data Advisory Commission met to refine the agency’s research agenda and to solicit commission input on family‑access research questions. Amy Chekaway, Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Strategy and Research at the Department of Early Education and Care, opened the session and framed the meeting as foundational for a multi‑year effort to guide the commission’s annual report and future priorities.
The commission focused on how EEC should refresh research priorities, particularly studies of supply and demand, family co‑payments and the “cliff effect” — the sharp loss of child‑care subsidy eligibility when a family’s income rises slightly. Ashley White, EEC’s Director of Research, said the agency “launched a research agenda last fall” and wants to “refine and reflect back on those priorities” with annual updates that include external stakeholder input.
Commission members raised priorities for immediate and longer‑term work. Laura (Commission member) asked whether changes in EEC contracts and in CCFA (Child Care Financial Assistance) eligibility could be assessed for their effects on access and the location of childcare deserts. She asked specifically how an eligibility change to 85 percent of SMI would affect the roughly 30,000 families currently on the wait list.
Emily (Commission member) and others urged study of program design changes that can cause disruptions for mixed‑age settings, such as Head Start programs, and called attention to whether fear of data sharing is reducing participation among immigrant and refugee families.
Brian (Commission member) urged the commission to prioritize rapid, actionable research that can support families facing immediate risks and to examine whether family access aligns with family preferences. He also recommended studying downstream effects of targeted preschool investments on infant‑and‑toddler capacity.
Mark Riley, Undersecretary at the Executive Office of Education, encouraged commission members to “track” related cross‑agency work such as the educator‑to‑career (E2C) data hub and to think about how EEC data can link to broader birth‑through‑college outcomes.
The commission agreed to continue using the meeting series to collect input that will feed EEC’s annual report and to follow up on specific research topics in future meetings. Staff said they will capture the suggestions raised and incorporate them into the agenda for upcoming sessions.
