FRAMINGHAM, MA – Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark released the following statement on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' announcement that it would be expanding and extending the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants with an additional $450 million in federal grant funding. The C3 grants are designed to stabilize the child care sector and enable families to find care. The state also announced that the grants will now help recruit and retain workers, including additional funding to child care providers that increase salaries and benefits for their workers or expand capacity and services for their parents."I am grateful that the Commonwealth is expanding its child care grants with the federal funding I fought to secure since the start of the pandemic. We know that providers are struggling to stay open and, in turn, parents are struggling to return to work. These grants will help ensure we make a full economic recovery without leaving parents, kids and our dedicated early educators behind."# # #Background: Assistant Speaker Clark has led the effort for child care relief funding in the U.S. House of Representatives. In May 2020, she called for a $50 billion bailout of the child care industry, highlighting the essential role that child care plays as a part of our economic infrastructure. As a result of her leadership, a total of $50 billion of relief funding has been passed into law through the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan. She now is championing child care funding in the Build Back Better Act, which has passed the House and would provide affordable child care to families and free universal pre-k to all 3-and 4-year-olds.

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