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Many more New Yorkers will have access to childcare subsidies through new budget
By
Jessica Gould
Published Apr 9, 2022
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Mike Groll / Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
By
Jessica Gould
Published Apr 9, 2022
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The newly passed New York state budget includes a major investment in funding for child care: increasing eligibility to child care subsidies for families, and boosting financial support to cash-strapped providers.
Governor Kathy Hochul said the goal is to address a problem that has plagued working parents for generations, and that became all the more acute during the pandemic.
“I’m proud as a mother who had to leave a job because I could not find child care many years ago to announce that we’re investing over $7 billion over four years into child care,” Hochul said yesterday.
Hochul has said she left a job working as an attorney for late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan more than three decades ago because she couldn’t afford help taking care of her two young children.
“Through our investments, we'll be able to open the door to childcare for more than half of the young people in New York,” Hochul added.
Lawmakers passed the $220 billion spending plan Saturday morning.
Now families at 300% of the federal poverty level will be able to access subsidies, compared to 200% before. That means families of four with up to an income of $83,000 will now be eligible, compared to up to $55,000 for families of four before.
“It’s huge, and we’re excited,” said Gregory Brender, director of public policy at the Day Care Council of New York. “This historic investment is desperately needed.”
Child care costs are steep in New York: according to the Citizens Committee for Children, a year at a local day care center costs an average of nearly $19,000; home-based care tops $10,000 a year.
A 2021 report from Columbia University and the Robin Hood Foundation said families earning minimum wage salaries have to spend half their yearly pay to afford childcare in New York.
Meanwhile, the report said, only a quarter of families eligible for subsidies actually use them, either because they don’t know that assistance is available, have trouble navigating the paperwork, or because the subsidies aren’t enough to make care affordable.
Child care providers have also struggled for years to make ends meet, facing high costs and tight margins. They took an especially hard hit during the pandemic as new safety protocols pushed expenses even higher while enrollment fluctuated.
In response, Hochul said the state is increasing funding to day care centers and caregivers who serve children from their homes through higher reimbursement rates and direct grants.
Still, hurdles remain.
“There are a few areas where we really need to see some more work,” Brender said.
Parents seeking subsidies must show they work 35 hours a week, but many parents in need of care work gig jobs, including driving cars and delivering food, or don’t have the paperwork documenting their hours.
The subsidies will also not be available to many undocumented families.
“It’s a big step forward,” said Jennifer March, executive director of Citizens Committee for Children of New York. But March said the proposal initially put forward by many lawmakers was far more ambitious: it expanded eligibility to many more households, and did not include the work or immigration requirements that made it into the final bill.
“We and many other advocates are disheartened that the more ambitious, inclusive vision put forward by the legislature is not where we landed,” she said.
Tagged
child care
new york state
Governor Kathy Hochul
budget
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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