About the Department of Early Education & Care of Massachusetts

Background of EE&C

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) provides services for children in Massachusetts through a mixed delivery system which includes child care centers, out-of-school time programs, family child care homes, public preschool programs, private school preschools and kindergartens, and Head Start programs.  EEC is responsible for licensing early education and care and out-of-school time programs throughout Massachusetts and for providing child care financial assistance to low-income families with children birth to 14 years of age.  In addition, EEC provides support for information and referral services, inclusive programming for children with disabilities, parenting and family support, and professional development opportunities for educators in the early education and care and out-of-school time fields.  These efforts affect thousands of early education and care and out-of-school time educators, who serve more than 275,000 children each day.  In its broadest role, EEC also serves as a source of information to more than one million families in Massachusetts.