A top education official said yesterday that early childhood education is a clear priority of the state as reflected in increased funding of a statewide pilot Universal Pre-Kindergarten program.

Moving to address concerns raised by the state auditor, the state's early childhood agency has improved the monitoring of the millions of dollars in state and federal funds it distributes to child care providers, a spokesman said yesterday.

Day care providers must comply with a myriad of regulations in the Bay State. Many, like Pilgrim Child Care in Duxbury, above, rely on the advice of state inspectors, but inspectors have huge workloads.

Working parents of 15 children may be without free YMCA child care soon, the result of a federal grant cut to the city.

Dozens of local working parents rely on before- and after-school programs to care for their children while they're at work. Most programs are run by organizations, such as the YMCA, right inside the school the children attend.

The YWCA of Greater Newburyport has received overwhelming response to three new after-school programs that were launched last week in an effort to make after-school child care easier for parents.