Children’s Investment Fund works to ensure that children are educated in physical environments designed to support their healthy growth and development. Program quality is affected by the suitability and condition of the physical setting, which influences children’s health, safety and learning, as well as staff effectiveness and commitment.

The Fund helps non-profit organizations develop high-quality space for early care and education and out-of-school time programs. Many organizations would like to improve or expand their program space, but do not know where to begin.  CEDAC’s affiliate, the Children’s Investment Fund, helps providers address their facility needs with technical assistance, training, capital grants and flexible loan financing.

For more information about the Children’s Investment Fund, please visit www.childrensinvestmentfundma.org.

CIF’s Mav Pardee & Theresa Jordan appeared on WHDH-TV’s Urban Update to discuss the importance of quality child care facilities.

View this video below.

Click here for CIF’s Building an Infrastructure for Quality report.

    Children’s Investment Fund Reports on the State of ECE and OST Facilities

    Most buildings that house early childhood education (ECE) or out-of-school time (OST) programs were originally built for another purpose: church basements, old school buildings or retail space.   Non-profit providers invest enough to meet regulatory requirements but rarely have resources to make additional improvements to the space. With the release of Building an Infrastructure for Quality, the Children’s Investment Fund reports on a two year study of facilities in a random sample of 182 centers. It offers the first detailed look at existing conditions in program sites across Massachusetts.

The report demonstrates a critical need for capital investments to address the health and wellbeing of children, strengthen the learning environment, and improve educators’ work space.  A key recommendation is to ensure that providers gain access to public capital financing in the form of long-term, low interest loans. 

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