In the last two years, MTF has deepened its engagement in child care policy due to the essential role it plays in creating economic opportunity across the state. Without it, parents cannot enter and remain in the workforce and employers cannot attract the talent they need to sustain and grow their businesses. However, our current child care system is unaffordable and inaccessible for many families, constraining the state’s economic growth. MTF’s previous research estimated that, due to inadequate child care, Massachusetts loses roughly $2.7 billion a year in lost earnings for employees, additional costs and lower productivity for employers, and in reduced tax revenues. The primary way the state attempts to close gaps in child care access is through subsidies to low-income families. However, our subsidy system only served 49,000 children a month, on average, in FY 2022. Far from the number of families actually in need. Therefore any examination of the state’s child care system, or proposals to reform it, must include the foundational structure - the subsidy system.