by: Natalie Kucko

Jan 9, 2026

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Governor Kathy Hochul is making child care a priority in the upcoming state budget. It comes with new proposals to expand pre-K programs and assist more New Yorkers with child care assistance.

By 2028, the governor wants to bring pre-K programs to all school districts in New York State and boost universal access to free or affordable child care statewide.

“It will really set us up on a path to ensuring everybody in this community who wants child care and needs it can access it in the future,” said Pete Nabozny, policy director for The Children’s Agenda.

Nabozny said he anticipates this would ensure 4-year-old pre-K programs would be made available to every family in Monroe County.

It would also increase the Child Care Assistance Program. Officials across the state have been concerned that demand for that program would exceed funding, in turn threatening closures and waitlists.

For local advocates, these proposals have been years in the making.

“To be able to start work, and start work quickly. To be able to afford rent and be able to afford the increased cost of living, and have a safe place for their children to be,” said Sam Moskowitz, a child care advocate for Volunteers of America.

As Gov. Hochul outlines these proposals further in the upcoming State of the State Address on Tuesday, Nabozny says it’s a relief to see child care at the forefront.

“The idea that we need to address child care for New Yorkers is pretty universally held, and so I’m not worried this isn’t going to make it. In the end, it’s just what version makes it and what the details look like,” said Nabozny.

Original story here – https://www.rochesterfirst.com/new-york-state/what-will-universal-child-care-look-like-in-monroe-county/