Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced a $7 million investment for city childcare. The Growing the Workforce fund will support recruiting new educators by funding internships, scholarships, and 800 certificates and degrees for individuals working in the early childhood sector. The grantees will also be offering wraparound support services for early child care workers such as apprenticeship and internship stipends, scholarships and mentorship as well as two to three years of employment after graduation. Funded by the American Rescue Plan, the grants aim to increase childcare jobs in the wake of the pandemic.

As reported by MassLive, “’This is an investment in our families, in our economy and in our future,’ Mayor Wu said during a press conference. ‘For all the working parents who had to struggle to find a center with enough staff to accommodate non-traditional working hours, for all the early childhood educators who struggled to find opportunities that recognize your value and compensate you fairly, for all of our cities children who deserve to be taught, nurtured and given the chance to become the leaders and change-makers you’re destined to be today’s announcement is for you.’”