ECSO: Unlocking state funding for early childhood

Massachusetts Commits to Continued Funding for Early Childhood Support Organizations

After a five-year partnership between New Profit and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), Massachusetts has committed $18.25 million to fully fund Early Childhood Support Organizations (ECSO) over the next six years.

Launched in 2020, the ECSO initiative, supported by New Profit and EEC, has provided professional development and quality improvement for early education leaders across Massachusetts. This partnership exemplifies the M.I.C.™ framework by leveraging diverse, cross-sector expertise to address systemic challenges in early childhood education. 

Our role included providing unrestricted capital and capacity-building support, while EEC offered operating funds and the network of licensed programs for scaling. ECSOs work to enhance program leaders’ knowledge and practices, thus improving instruction by educators and ultimately educational outcomes for children statewide.

We funded a third-party, multi-year evaluation, which showed that ECSOs effectively aid program leaders to employ positive professional practices in support of educators, leading to continuous improvements in early education programs. Insights from the evaluation and an active professional learning community among partners have informed EEC’s future service contracts, ensuring sustained quality enhancement.

Reflecting on this collaboration, Massachusetts’ renewed investment highlights the substantial impact of ECSOs. This ongoing partnership underscores our commitment to high-quality early education and systemic change, benefiting children and educators alike.
For more details, see Abt Global’s 2023 Evaluation Report.