Office of Early Childhood outlines childcare expansion, Great Starts platform improvements and heat‑focused pilots

The Office of Early Childhood briefed the Boston City Council Committee on Ways and Means on May 6 on FY26 work to expand family child care, improve access to Boston Pre‑K and pilot heat‑related supports for infants and toddlers.

Director Christian McQuain (senior adviser to the mayor for early childhood and director of the Office of Early Childhood) told the committee the office was established in 2022 to support children under 8 and their families and described a multi‑track approach focused on stability, quality and access.

Family child care and business supports McQuain said the office and partners opened 34 new family child care businesses in partnership with the United Way; these enterprises typically start with six licensed children and can expand to 10. The office runs the Child Care Entrepreneur Fund (CEF), which delivered financial and marketing courses to 107 providers in English and Spanish and in translated cohorts (Mandarin, Portuguese and French).

Quality and training The office has trained 74 family child care providers and assistants with the Boston Public Health Commission on nutrition and movement, and developed a farm‑to‑table curriculum with Mass Audubon and Grow Boston so participating providers can create on‑site growing beds to reinforce nutrition lessons. The office also provides developmental screening supports and infant mental health endorsements for providers.

Great Starts platform and Boston Pre‑K The Office of Early Childhood described improvements to Great Starts, the city’s family services and enrollment platform. Since April 7 families can apply to Boston Public Schools through the same platform they use to find childcare and to apply for Boston Pre‑K, streamlining what had previously been multiple applications. McQuain said Boston Pre‑K serves “almost 5,000” children and that the platform is mobile friendly and available in 10 languages with additional language support being added.

Enrollment and supply/demand McQuain gave enrollment snapshots: about 52% of four‑year‑olds in Boston are in a city‑funded seat; about 22% of three‑year‑olds are in city‑funded seats. He said overall Boston Pre‑K utilization was roughly 94%, and the office is moving toward a single application so families can apply to both BPS and community‑based seats in one place. The office said it will continue targeted outreach in neighborhoods with lower uptake and continue to recruit family child care providers where infant/toddler capacity is most constrained.

Heat and children pilots The office described three pilots to address heat exposure risks for infants and toddlers in heat‑island neighborhoods: 1) adapting cooling‑station programming so that caregivers and staff have developmentally appropriate play activities for very young children in cooling tents; 2) providing information and support to family child care providers on retrofits and heat‑pump installation through Mass Save and piloting heat‑sensors so providers know when indoor conditions reach heat‑emergency levels; and 3) infusing early‑childhood messaging into emergency communications because pregnant people and infants are among the most vulnerable during heat events.

Children’s Council and Connect‑Learn‑Explore McQuain said the city launched a Children’s Council with representatives from 17 departments to align services across cabinets and to lead administration priorities including the Connect‑Learn‑Explore initiative (biking, swimming, sports and nature). He highlighted a summer biking expansion: 22 in‑summer “success link” participants at seven locations taught over 750 young people to bike this year and the city plans to open more “bike towns.”