Tell city leaders to invest in child care

High-quality early care and education is essential to the lives of families, offering caretakers the freedom and flexibility to work, and giving young children the opportunity to develop academically, socially, and emotionally. Unfortunately, too many families throughout the city face barriers accessing child care, hindering children’s participation in programs and parents’ ability to work and earn a living.

CCC’s recent comprehensive analysis of early care and education data and results from a citywide survey of parents and caregivers shows that families across the city struggle to access affordable care across age groups that is suitable to their schedules and conveniently located. As the city’s early care and education system has grown, it has prioritized school-day, school-year services, when many parents need full-day, full-year care. Additionally, centralized enrollment through the DOE has prioritized filling seats in school-based sites rather than community based centers and family child care settings, resulting in thousands of empty seats across communities at a time of high need. Furthermore, at a time when access to child care is so crucial, Mayor Adams’s administration has proposed to deeply cut funding for 3-K for All, which will stall the program’s expansion and leave countless families without preschool options.

We are entering the final month of city budget negotiations and we need your help to ensure city leaders prioritize expanding options for child care and restoring budget cuts to 3-K.