By Raga Justin, Capitol Bureau
April 8, 2025

ALBANY — More than 10 upstate counties will close key child care assistance programs by June, the result of a funding shortfall that advocates have said is up to New York leaders to backfill in the state budget.

Experts said that the state-administered Child Care Assistance Program, which uses a mix of federal, state and county government funding to help pay child care expenses for lower- and middle-income families, could see a $276 million gap by September 2026. That projected shortfall came as a shock to advocates and lawmakers, they have said.

It also contrasts with New York Democrats’ touted commitment to boosting the access and availability of child care in the state. Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year devoted a large portion of her behemoth policy plan to the issue and said she wants to find a pathway to universal child care, which would make most families in New York eligible for free or heavily subsidized services.

New York in recent years has expanded the income eligibility guidelines for families to qualify for assistance, which meant enrollment in the program has skyrocketed. According to a new report from the Children’s Agenda, a child care advocacy and policy group, the state’s funding for the program has not kept up with the enrollment numbers. State funding through the annual budget flatlined this year, even as advocates project an increase in the number of families seeking help with their child care costs through the program.

Children’s Agenda [Policy] Director Pete Nabozny said without that funding, counties will be forced to turn away new applicants. But it could also cut existing families who have long qualified for the program.

Already, 11 counties have shut down enrollment and opened a wait list for families who are seeking the assistance. Those include Saratoga, Warren, Washington, Allegany, Columbia and Lewis counties. More counties are expected to shutter access to the program in the coming months.

What that looks like, advocates say, is parents either having to find extra room in their budgets to pay for child care each month, or withdraw their children from care and figure out alternative arrangements. That can be especially difficult for working parents.

“If you don’t have child care next week — that’s going to be really devastating for families,” Nabozny said. “And it’s also going to disrupt the provider side of things — as they’re losing children in spots and their finances are already pretty shaky, we’re worried it’s going to destabilize the already pretty fragile child care ecosystem.”

The net impact would be nearly all counties in the state ultimately curtailing access to the program, potentially shutting down assistance for tens of thousands of families in the next year, the report projected.

Hochul has in recent years said fixing the dearth of child care providers in New York, as well as lowering its cost, have been her top priorities. It’s a deeply personal issue to Hochul, who has repeatedly pointed to her own experiences as a working mother raising young children.

New York previously said it would offer new businesses and developers up to $100 million in incentives to close major gaps in child care availability throughout the state.

Original article: https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/devastating-child-care-advocates-worry-20265565.php