A lot of money has already come to Massachusetts from federal COVID relief legislation, and more is on the way. Will policymakers decide to spend this money where it is most needed? Will this be an opportunity to invest in the Black, brown, and low-income communities hardest hit and still affected by the pandemic? Who …
Interested in learning more about how the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 House Ways and Means (HWM) budget proposal and federal aid impacts our state budget? Learn more in the presentation from our KIDS COUNT Director, Nancy Wagman, and Senior Policy Analyst, Monique Ching, for a recent presentation to the Massachusetts Public Health Association’s Health Equity …
The State of FY2022 HWM Budget & Where We Go From Here Read More »
May 24th, 2021 Update: Since the initial publication of this brief, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has provided updated funding totals. The passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the availability of significant new federal revenue gives Massachusetts a once-in-a-generation opportunity. With thoughtful choices, these dollars can be the sturdy building blocks for …
Relief Is on the Way: Part I—State and Local Funding from the American Rescue Plan Read More »
As far as most of us are concerned, the 2020 Census has been over for months. There have been far more important concerns over this past year to occupy our thoughts: a devastating pandemic that has hit our communities of color particularly hard1; a recession2 and widespread unemployment upending the lives of hundres of thousand …
Bringing in the Relief: The Census Counts for Equity (updated) Read More »
As difficult as this past year has been, it would have been worse without the more than $70 billion in federal relief to Massachusetts so far from just the first five of the COVID-19 federal relief bills. About $39 billion in federal dollars goes directly to individuals and businesses, through stimulus checks and programs like …
Where’s the Relief? The Distribution of Federal Funding in Massachusetts Read More »
Policymakers have the responsibility and an opportunity to make smart and fair policy choices that will support children and families. This is particularly true now amid the twin health and economic emergencies that expose and make worse long-standing racial and economic inequities. COVID-19 and the economic downturn have hit hard, particularly in households with children …
The Pandemic Persists: Pain Points for the Children of Massachusetts Read More »
More than $3.3 billion in CARES Act funding comes to our Massachusetts communities based on population estimates from the census. Learn how the Commonwealth can get its fair share of power and money through a complete, accurate 2020 Census count in our latest report.
For more on federal fiscal relief, read That’s A Relief Part I: Federal Fiscal Relief to Massachusetts in Recently-Passed Legislation and That’s A Relief Part II: Federal Fiscal Relief for Community Development in the CARES Act. The Massachusetts state budget is the single piece of legislation each year that defines the state’s vision, values, and plan for the …
Read That’s A Relief Part I: Federal Fiscal Relief to Massachusetts in Recently-Passed Legislation here. The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act,” or “C3”), provides substantial federal fiscal relief for the states, benefits to certain businesses, as well as direct payments to individuals suffering hardship due to the pandemic and the subsequent economic …
Learn what federal relief though the CARES Act, the Coronavirus Relief Fund, and other recently passed legislation means for the Commonwealth during the public health crisis.