Rep. Stanley’s Budget Amendments Benefit Lincoln & Waltham

Rep. Stanley is pleased that three of his FY22 budget amendments were included in House budget negotiations. Rep. Stanley secured $150,000 in funding for the Fragile Beginnings and Project NESST Programs at Jewish Family & Children’s Services (JF&CS). Fragile Beginnings provides expert guidance, emotional support, streamlined access to community resources, and connections to other parents who understand the stress of caring for a premature and/or medically fragile infant. Project NESST address the challenges faced by substance exposed newborns by supporting parents in meeting the dual challenges of parenting and recovery from substance use disorder.

Rep. Stanley also secured $150,000 for Lincoln to help assist with Lincoln’s unfunded financial burden for the preK-12 education of retired-military residents of Hanscom Air Force Base. Lincoln is required by state law to educate non-active retiree high school students who attend Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, located in Sudbury, unless their families move off-base. Hanscom Air Force Base remains a significant generator of jobs and economic activity for the Commonwealth. The Town of Lincoln has long been a supporter of the Base and its mission. Yet, the educational expenses of non-active retiree children are a big burden for a small municipality with limited resources.

Rep. Stanley also secured $100,000 for More Than Words, Inc.’s (MTW) young parents program to support the staff working with young parents and provide job training, case management, and individualized advocacy. MTW empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business and has recently adapted programming to better support young parents to participate in programming and find success for themselves and their families. Young parents access adapted scheduling to work around childcare commitments and individualized support and advocacy from the MTW Advocacy and Community Engagement team, with a particular emphasis on ensuring that all young parents at MTW have stable housing and access to childcare.

Rep. Stanley also successfully filed an amendment for $75,000 for the Waltham Tourism Council. The money will help promote the tourism and hospitality industries in Waltham that have been hit hard by the pandemic.