(The Center Square) – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani moved thousands of kids off a taxpayer-funded childcare waitlist after getting a new infusion of money from the state budget.
The New York City Administration for Children’s Services announced Monday that more than 10,000 children will receive vouchers for subsidized childcare services, backed by $1.2 billion in state funding previously approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders.
The vouchers will go to waitlisted children between the ages of 6 weeks and 13 years, as well as those with special needs through age 19, according to the Mamdani administration. More than 29,000 children are currently on the list.
Mamdani said the city will begin inviting waitlisted families to apply for vouchers in the next few months. He said families who make below 300% of the federal poverty line, families who are homeless, and families who have a child with special needs, will be prioritized for vouchers.
“Bringing New York City closer to a future where every New Yorker can access universal childcare is about more than just lifting a financial burden from New Yorkers’ shoulders,” Mamdani said in remarks Monday. “It’s about building a city where the people know they can demand more from their government, and one where their government delivers more in kind.”
The Hochul administration has committed $1.2 billion – including 475 million specifically for the voucher program – to help provide childcare in “high-needs areas” of New York City before expanding to the rest of the five boroughs. The initiative, included in the $268 billion state budget, is part of her broader push to make childcare statewide.
Under the plan, free childcare for 2-year-olds would be offered in “high-need areas” within the city in the first year of implementation. The state is funding the program for the first two years, and after that, the Legislature will be required to provide funding to keep it going.
Overall, the lack of childcare options in New York is costing working families, some of whom spend 20% to 40% of their annual income on childcare programs.
The average cost of childcare is $15,394 a year in New York, the sixth-most expensive state in the nation, according to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute.
A typical family in New York would have to spend 39.8% of its income on childcare for an infant and a 4-year-old, according to the report. Childcare costs in New York City are even higher.
Many childcare providers are financially strained in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and advocates say low compensation and the rising costs of caring for children are putting some providers out of business. Meanwhile, early education providers struggle to retain workers in an industry where the pay is traditionally low, and health risks are elevated.
“This sweeping expansion of childcare vouchers will be a lifeline for thousands of low-income families in New York City,” Council Member Lincoln Restler said in a statement. “These vouchers will keep thousands of young families in New York City by providing the reliable, full-time childcare they desperately need.”
