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Page 14 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2022 BAKER | FROM PAGE 9 come or less in FY23. Expanding health care services for the most vulnerable The House 2 budget proposal protects core programs and builds on investments made over the last seven years with meaningful health care reforms that will expand services for and reduce the burden on the most vulnerable while improving the accessibility of equitable, world-class care for all Massachusetts residents. The budget recommends $17.811 billion gross/$7.169 billion net for MassHealth, which includes $115M to expand outpatient and urgent behavioral health services informed by the Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform, a multiyear blueprint that incorporates feedback from hundreds of individuals, families, providers and other behavioral health stakeholders. The MassHealth budget recommendation also incorporates an increase of $21M to expand the Medicare Savings Program (MSP), which will reduce outof-pocket health care spending and prescription drug costs for approximately 34,000 low-income seniors and disabled individuals. The Administration is also proposing new investments to support families that are fostering children in the care of DCF and to encourage recruitment of additional foster parents, including $13.4M that will support approximately 4,500 families who provide care for 6,700 children. Promoting diversity and opportunity The FY23 budget proposal builds on the Administration’s longstanding commitment to promoting equality and opportunity for communities of color with more than $20M invested in targeted Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) college and career pathway programs, including Early College, Innovation Pathways and Dual Enrollment programs. It also maintains over $30M for other initiatives aligned with the recommendations of the Governor’s Black Advisory Commission (BAC) and Latino Advisory Commission (LAC). This funding includes support for YouthWorks Summer Jobs, small business development, financial literacy and workforce training. House 2 provides $3.9M to the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) to continue its work to ensure accountability and compliance with diversity goals, oversee agency diversity spending and audit and review spending data. Encouraging economic growth and development House 2 continues the Baker-Polito Administration’s focus on promoting economic growth, opportunity and equity for communities across the Commonwealth. The proposal includes $4M for the Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Program to support an estimated 1,500-2,000 entrepreneurs and small businesses, especially those owned by women, immigrants, veterans and people of color. House 2 proposes $7.5M for the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant program. This budget maintains support for the Career Technical Initiative, providing $17.9M in total funding across the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) and DESE. The initiative is designed to address the worker shortage and skills gap in the trades and technical fields, including plumbing, HVAC, manufacturing and robotics, and it offers industry-recognized credentialing and career pathways with training aligned to apprenticeships and post-secondary degrees. These investments build on the Administration’s work through the COVID-19 pandemic to support more than 15,400 businesses across the Commonwealth with more than $700M in relief. This program – the largest per capita state-sponsored business relief program in the nation – prioritized aid for specific economic sectors and demographics known to be the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and worked with a wide range of partners to ensure businesses that needed it most applied to the program. Addressing sexual assault and domestic violence The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have created additional challenges for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. The Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, which is chaired by Polito, has continued to work closely with community partners and stakeholders to ensure that survivors and their families have access to necessary services and supports. House 2 furthers these efforts by recommending $123.4M in total funding for services dedicated to the prevention and treatment of sexual assault and domestic violence, a 91 percent increase in funding since FY15. Substance addiction treatment and prevention The Administration, working closely with the Legislature, has nearly quadrupled funding for substance addiction treatment and prevention since taking office. These efforts have helped the Commonwealth add more than 1,200 patient treatment beds, including more than 800 beds for adults at varying treatment levels. House 2 proposes $543.8M in total funding across multiple agencies for a wide range of harm reduction, treatment and recovery programs that support individuals struggling with substance addiction and programs that work to prevent substance addiction through education, prescription monitoring and more. Supporting local government • Increases the Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) investment by $31.5M compared to the FY22 budget, consistent with the expected 2.7 percent growth in tax revenue and keeping a promise made by Baker and Polito at the outset of their administration • Total UGGA investment of $1.2 billion to local cities and towns across the Commonwealth • Under the Baker-Polito Administration, total annual UGGA has increased by $253.9M • $6M for Community Compact–related programs, including best practices and regionalization and efficiency grants, an increase of $2.4M (66 percent) above FY22 • $4.8M for the Public Safety Staffing Grant Program managed by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) • $3M for district local technical assistance K-12 education • Fully funds the landmark Student Opportunity Act, adding a total of $591.4M in new spending • $485M in Chapter 70 funding, for a total Chapter 70 investment of $5.989 billion • $41M increase for special education circuit breaker reimbursement for local cities and towns • $64.8M in additional funding for charter school reimbursement • In addition to Chapter 70 funding, provides $952.8M for DESE, including $31.1M to scale up proven programs that will develop and expand college and career pathways for more than 17,100 high school students, a $12M increase above FY22 funding Early Education and Childcare $802M for Early Education and Care (EEC), an increase of $273.9M (52%) since FY15. The recommendation includes: • $53.9M to annualize the implementation of a more equitable parent fee scale that improves childcare affordability across the Commonwealth • $9.2M across DTA and EEC that would provide childcare subsidy access for individuals participating in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training programming • $5.5M across DCF and EEC to increase enrollment of DCF-involved children in childcare and expand a temporary childcare program to reach more children and provide additional wraparound services Higher education $1.45 billion for the Department of Higher Education, University of Massachusetts and state universities and community colleges, which includes: • More than $155M in financial aid grants, including $18M to support an expansion of the MASSGrant Plus program that will enable all low-income, instate undergraduate students to attend public higher education without incurring debt for mandatory tuition and mandatory fees • $22M in financial aid for Massachusetts students attending private institutions • $8.8M for foster care financial aid and fee waiver programs to maintain support for more than 1,400 students attending private and public campuses who are currently or were previously in DCF custody and care, or who have been adopted through DCF Housing and homelessness $716.5M for the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), a $132.4M (23 percent) increase BAKER | SEE PAGE 15

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