Overview
Like public education and transportation, child care benefits society at large. When children are learning and thriving in safe, supportive settings, their parents and caregivers can work or pursue the education needed to boost their family’s economic fortunes, and businesses are able to recruit and maintain a reliable workforce. However, in New York, like many states, child care is far too difficult to find and often too expensive to afford.
Leaders in New York have made substantial investments in child care, particularly over the past several years. And yet many families across New York State are stuck on waitlists to receive assistance and are unable to pursue their career and educational goals.
The 2025-26 state budget added $400 million in additional funding to help address a projected shortfall that caused 15 counties and New York City to close enrollment and, in some cases, establish wait lists. However, this additional funding has been presented as a one-time expense and $350 million of this added funding requires a matched contribution from New York City and potentially other counties to access the funds.
But the financial resources needed to sustain and expand the Child Care Assistance Program are not a one-time expense. Instead, New York will need to expand funding for child care on a continuing basis to ensure that children and families can receive support from this critically important program.
The Children’s Agenda is issuing this report to inform the work of the New York Coalition for Child Care, which is tasked with, among other things, identifying a sustained funding stream to help New York achieve universal child care and implement the recommendations of the Governor’s Child Care Availability Task Force.
The Children’s Agenda extends sincere gratitude to ESL Charitable Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, and the Robin Hood Foundation for their generous support of this report. Their commitment to improving all children’s lives, especially the most vulnerable, has been instrumental in making this work possible. We also appreciate the supportive research, review, and other contributions of our partners at the WNY Women’s Foundation, Liftoff WNY, and Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy.