Family ACCESS of Newton announced that it will permanently close on June 25, 2026, due to declining enrollment and rising costs. The nonprofit will continue its Early Learning Center, Early Literacy Services, and Counseling Services through that date, completing 119 years of service to Newton and surrounding communities. The Early Learning Center staff will help families find new childcare providers.
Board Chair Jim Rapoport and Executive Director Maisie Pollard made the announcement to staff on Monday, May 18, and to Family ACCESS families and the community the next day. “Our Board and leadership exhausted all options,” they wrote. “There is simply no way forward that would allow our organization to continue to responsibly sustain our operations, particularly given the persistent economic pressures and shifting family preferences that have led to such a prolonged period of under-enrollment.”
The organization, formerly (and still legally) known as Newton Community Service Centers, was founded by a group of progressive women in 1907 as a day nursery for children of domestic workers employed in the homes of West Newton Hill. It served 10 children in its first year and almost 300 the next year. In 2020, it served over 5,000 clients.
The organization was one of the first in the state to focus on early education. In the 1970s, it was the first agency in Massachusetts to adopt the Parent Child Home Program, a national model for engaging parents in early child development. For years, it has operated out of the former Davis School in West Newton.
In 2014, the organization adopted the name Family ACCESS, with ACCESS standing for “A Center for Comprehensive Education and Support Services.” Through its history, it has focused on the neediest, offering subsidized services for low-income families. Its Early Literacy Services help families challenged by poverty or limited education to prepare young children for school. Its Counseling and Consultation Services include home visits, support for young parents, and economic mobility coaching.
During COVID, Family ACCESS created a transition program to help families in the community acclimate their young children to enter or re-enter classroom settings. It also started an in-person kindergarten for children not able to function in remote-based kindergartens.
Years of financial strain
The closure reflects pressures that have been building on providers of early-childhood services, particularly ones reliant on government funding. In FY2025, nearly all of Family ACCESS’s operating revenues came from the state via the Department of Early Education and Care and the Department of Children and Families. Costs have risen while family incomes have not kept pace, leaving many working families unable to afford center-based care. Federal funding that temporarily stabilized many childcare providers during the pandemic has expired.
The financial situation was not new. Financial statements from one year ago (FY2025) indicate that auditors and management agreed then that there was substantial doubt about the organization’s ability to continue as a going concern. From the year before, revenue had decreased by 10%, and across both years there was a combined net operating loss of over $750,000. Debt in the form of a line of credit and a note grew from $180,000 to $477,000 in a year, and the organization had liquid assets for about a month of operating expenses.
To turn the situation around, Family ACCESS undertook several actions, including a change in leadership, a multi-year recovery plan, strategic cost cutting, program re-evaluation, improved cost controls, diversification of revenue including rentals, and hiring a grant writer. Some of these provided measures of success, but as the Board Chair and Executive Director noted, all options were exhausted and there was no way forward.
Beyond the loss of care, the closure will mean job losses for the dozens of Family ACCESS staff. And it will lead to the absence of a longtime, helpful neighbor in the community life of Newton.