Assembly Resolution No. 2133

BY: M. of A. Solages

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
May 8-12, 2024, as Early Childhood Educator and
Child Care Provider Appreciation Week In the State
of New York

WHEREAS, Child care plays an essential role for working parents; an
estimated 844,100 children under the age of 6 live in households where
all available adults were in the labor force; and

WHEREAS, Child care providers offer care vital to the growth of
young children; beyond preparing meals and changing diapers, child care
workers provide the building blocks of intellectual, emotional, and
social development for children; and

WHEREAS, In New York State, 94% of the child care workforce is made
of women, compared to 49% of workers in other occupations; and

WHEREAS, Despite the important nature of their work, people who work
in the child care industry are among the most underpaid and undervalued
in New York State, twelve percent of early childhood educators and child
care workers in New York State fall below the poverty line; and

WHEREAS, New York State's child day care services industry was hard
hit at the onset of the pandemic and heavily impacted by the
restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, Child care provides a number of services, including the
provision of nurturance and learning opportunities for children,
preparation for school, support for working parents and reduction of
poverty, respite care in child welfare cases, and access to supplemental
services such as vision and hearing screening, developmental testing,
feeding programs, and even parent support and literacy programs; and

WHEREAS, Beneficial outcomes for children are associated with
settings that provide both nurturance and support for early learning and
language development; now therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 8-12, 2024, as Early
Childhood Educator and Child Care Provider Week in New York State, and
to recognize the important services provided by child care providers to
New York's Communities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York; and the New York State Chairs of Children's Committee.