Advocacy Policy

Brookview House engages in policy and advocacy work for systemic change because it recognizes that homelessness and poverty are deeply rooted in systemic inequities. As a Black and Latinx women-led organization, Brookview House understands that to truly break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, there must be a concerted effort to address the structural barriers that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. By advocating for policies that promote justice, equity, and inclusion, Brookview House aims to create lasting change that not only supports individual families but also transforms the systems that perpetuate inequality. This commitment to systemic change is essential to achieving their mission of empowering women and children to build a future free from poverty and homelessness.

Our Advocacy Achievements

Hosted Annual Legislative Luncheons at the State House to discuss legislative priorities that impact family homelessness, including rental vouchers, transitional aid to families with dependent children, accessing and creating affordable childcare, and advocating for livable wages for childcare providers.

Hosted City Council hearings on family homelessness and childcare policies
Helped to secure passage of HB 1382, which provides community-based sentencing alternatives for primary caretakers of dependent children who have been convicted of non-violent crimes (get Date).
Convened a diverse array of partners to highlight innovative solutions to the challenges during the pandemic as part of its focus on “Practice to Policy”. During 2021, the Brookview team convened a 3-part Lunch & Learn webinar series focused on resilience during and post the pandemic focused on Black and Brown youth, parents, and the workforce. This initiative was co-sponsored by the MA Women of Color Network and Community Labor United. Panelists and Moderators included: Brookview Teens, and representatives from Boston Medical Center, BMC Health Net Plan, Brown Brothers Harriman, Commonwealth Mental Health & Wellness Center, and the Victim Rights Law Center.
Between 2008 and 2015, convened annual “Practice to Policy” conferences in collaboration with Wheelock College and Northeastern University Bouve College of Health Sciences featuring policymakers, clinicians, and community partners to identify best practices that help families experiencing homelessness succeed.
Brookview is a founding member of the “Care That Works” Coalition to change the childcare system in MA with a focus on ensure living wages for childcare providers.
Brookview is one of five partners in “Keeping Black Survivors Alive” – a statewide domestic violence prevention policy initiative.

H.542/S.341 An Act expanding access to family, friend andneighbor-provided childcare

The problem:

With major workforce development needs in construction, health care, transportation, and other essential industries, the ongoing child care crisis is holding Massachusetts back. Low-income parents and parents of color seeking better career opportunities are unable to ﬁnd child care that works, especially close to home and open for early or late shifts.

Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) providers, typically grandmothers, are license-exempt and can register for state payment through the child care voucher. But the state pays a maximum of $24 dollars per day for one child in FFN child care. And when families need FFN child care in combination with a formal program, the voucher is not always ﬂexible enough to pay both.

Due to these barriers, less than 1% of state child care subsidy funding goes to FFN providers and the parents and children that rely on them. FFN caregivers, so essential for parents with nonstandard schedules or living in child care deserts, have been left unseen and unsupported.

The solution:

Bills H.456 and S.341, sponsored by Representative Marjorie Decker and Senator Sal DiDomenico, would increase state support for FFN childcare so our most excluded families and caregivers can access care, resources, and opportunities to thrive.

1.Raise FFN provider pay up to the state minimum wage to give parents more child care options and stabilize the providers they know and trust.

2.Fix the childcare voucher so parents can use the full ten-hour daily value for the combination of formal and FFN care that works for their schedules.

3.Promote quality-supportive policies, programs, and practices for FFN child care by establishing a state FFN Advisory Council.

The big picture:

Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care has been left out of the conversation, but it is the key to supporting the child care needs of parents seeking workforce development opportunities today, and it is a key building block for the equitable universal childcare system we need in the long term for all parents, children, and caregivers to thrive.

Care That Works (CTW)

The Care That Works coalition is a multiracial, multicultural, multigenerational, feminist, working-class coalition of unions and community groups organizing paid and unpaid child caregivers: parents, relatives and friends, domestic workers, family child care providers, and center-based workers.

Our work is to reimagine, realign, and grow our care ecosystem as a public good to ensure that all care jobs are good jobs and that all forms of care are abundant for all communities.

For more information:

Visit our website at carethatworks.org or email: info@carethatworks.org.