Enhancing Access to Child Care Financial Assistance for Massachusetts Families
The Power of Targeted Texting Reminders
Now more than ever, digital channels such as text messaging (known as SMS) are frequently the most reliable way people communicate with each other, as well as the companies and institutions we interact with. Ninety-seven percent of Americans across all income levels have a smartphone of some sort according to Pew Research[1]. When LivePerson polled Gen Z and Millennials in the US about whether they would give up calling or texting, just over seventy-three percent of respondents chose to keep texting over voice calls[2]. But today, very few state agencies and services use texting to communicate with their customers.
That’s why a cornerstone to the Commonwealth’s Digital Roadmap is streamlining and expanding channels of communication — including texting — for people accessing state services. We’ve started by piloting texting in partnership with the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) in support of their efforts to modernize and improve communication with families. Through this pilot, we improved outreach to over 13,000 Massachusetts families on the state’s child care financial assistance waitlist to ensure they receive important notifications and don’t lose out on that assistance.
Building a Pilot to Solve Family and Agency Needs
EEC’s child care financial assistance programs support low-income families to access financial support for child care and out-of-school-time programs. Most families access this help by joining the state’s child care financial assistance waitlist.
We conducted extensive interviews with families on the waitlist and EEC staff to understand their specific needs and challenges, as well as mapped out the journey of getting child care financial assistance. These interviews showed that families on the waitlist experience the most challenges when funding becomes available, and they then have a set amount of time to respond to a mailed letter and send in documents to complete their application. If families have moved, or even miss a phone call, they risk losing out. As a result, our pilot focused on critical moments for families from determining eligibility and locating a child care provider to child care enrollment and placement.
The texting pilot’s goal was two-part. First, to reduce the percentage of eligible families that never receive assistance because of missed communication. Second, to reduce the time between when funding becomes available and families are informed of the funding availability and complete the application process.
In May 2023, EEC, the Mass Digital team at EOTSS, one EEC Child Care Resource and Referral agency (CCR&R), and Mass211 began a small pilot. We created a set of specific messages for the most critical steps in the families’ journeys to accessing child care financial assistance, leveraging texts in English and Spanish. These messages reminded families of their next steps in the application process, most importantly when financial assistance becomes available and they need to look out for a letter and who to call for next steps if they had questions. Similarly, we began to send additional follow up reminders and general status updates on where they stood in the multi-part process.
Early Observations and Next Steps
The early response to the pilot was positive, and we have since expanded from one CCR&R to all six across the Commonwealth. This resulted in full coverage for the nearly 5,500 families on the waitlist who chose to participate in the pilot. More than 415 families have received at least once text message since launch, which is expected to grow as more families come off the waitlist.
It is still too soon to compare long-term metrics, but the early feedback has been extremely positive, receiving more than a dozen “thank you” messages and only two opt-outs. This suggests that families are receptive to receiving critical, time sensitive updates by text.
The ability to analyze responses to the pre-programmed messaging has provided valuable insights directly from families. In particular, some responses have highlighted the need for additional language support and improvements that can be made to clarify the messaging. EEC plans to add texts in Portuguese in the coming months, adding further languages over time. To continue data-driven decisions and embedding feedback from families into communications, EEC is also developing new reporting dashboards to better understand the holistic journey of families through the child care financial assistance process and proactively identify new areas for investment.
Progress in Partnership
We believe this pilot program is a significant step forward in the value that families receive from EEC’s child care assistance programs. EOTSS was excited to partner with EEC around a shared vision of providing the highest levels of value for constituents across all interactions, and especially where they can be reached most reliably. This pilot was part of larger efforts at EEC to improve the child care financial assistance programs, and we’re equally excited to see how EEC continues to use technology advancements to modernize access to and use of these programs.
While this pilot exists only at EEC today, we are eager to leverage Mass Digital’s constituent-first focus and learned experiences with this program to make an impact on experiences throughout the Commonwealth. Learning through action is a major pillar of how this program will develop into the best it can be for our people who live and work in Massachusetts, so if your agency is interested in learning about the ways text messaging can improve your constituent experience, reach out to the EOTSS team. Additionally, check out our Medium page to learn more about our work.
Note: The content of this article is based on internal discussions and interviews with the team involved in the texting pilot program. The pilot program is subject to ongoing evaluation, and future iterations may incorporate additional features and enhancements.
References
[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/
[2] https://www.liveperson.com/resources/reports/digital-lives-millennials-genz/
