Governor Kathy Hochul announces an unprecedented investment as the next step to deliver affordable, universal child care for children under five years of age across New York State
Governor Kathy Hochul is proposing a $1.7 billion increase in child care funding.
Under the proposal, every 4-year-old in New York would have access to pre-k by the 2028-2029 school year.
Hochul said the State will not only fund additional seats to achieve universality but will also increase funding for existing seats, bringing them up to the greater of $10,000 or the applicable school district’s current selected foundation aid per pupil, so that districts have what they need to provide high-quality Pre-K.
Other child care initiatives being proposed by Hochul include piloting Innovative Community Care Models in counties. The program is designed to support counties in working towards universal access to affordable, year-round, full-day care for thousands of families across these communities, regardless of income. Programs will be a joint collaboration between participating counties and New York State.
A new Office of Child Care and Early Education is proposed to drive the implementation of high-quality, universal child care in New York State. The Office will oversee and support roll out of universal Pre-K, continued investment in 3K, launch of 2-Care and other innovative care options, expansion and improvement of vouchers, and ongoing support for the workforce.
Hochul also proposes expanding existing workforce scholarships, seeking opportunities for new Workforce Pell grants, and directing SUNY and CUNY to take a number of steps to expand and streamline early childhood education programs.
And the last of the child care proposals is the expansion and simplification of the child and dependent care tax credit to provide an additional average benefit of $575 for 230,000 tax filers. Hochul said a thorough review will be undertaken of existing tax incentives for employers with the goal of helping them better serve the child care needs of their employees.
These, and other proposals, will be part of Hochul’s annual State of the State address which is scheduled to take place at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 13.
Leave a Reply