We can expand access to affordable child care in New York. Let's do it. | Opinion

As chair of the Senate Education Committee, I know that academic success doesn’t start on the first day of kindergarten, it begins years earlier, with access to safe, nurturing and consistent child care. These early years shape a child’s ability to learn, grow and thrive.

But every day, I hear from parents in my district who are at a breaking point. For many families, child care is one of their largest monthly bills, averaging as much as $16,000 per year for one child in full-time care. The cost of care has become an unbearable burden. And without help, it’s unsustainable.

Since 2023, New York has made historic progress in making child care more accessible for families. We expanded the Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP, making tens of thousands of families newly eligible for support that nearly eliminates child care costs. The results have been life-changing. For a family of four with two children, child care costs that once totaled over $36,000 a year now amounts to just $312. That’s not just savings, it’s a path back to work, stability and opportunity.

This expanded eligibility and increased investment has led to a significant increase in the number of New York families receiving assistance — rising 35% last year alone. And yet, the nearly 160,000 children receiving assistance in January 2025 represent only a fraction of the more than one million children who qualify.

Despite the growing number of families eligible for assistance, the 2025-26 Executive Budget does not include increased investment for CCAP vouchers. Several new reports demonstrate that, should we pass a final New York State budget without increased CCAP funding, tens of thousands of eligible New York families will be left without assistance. This is more than just a policy misstep; it’s a looming crisis.

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Independent reports confirm what advocates and providers have feared: unless the final budget includes additional CCAP investment, counties across New York will be forced to cut back. In every corner of the state, we will serve fewer children — a dramatic step backward.

In Westchester County alone, more than 4,300 children currently benefit from CCAP. Projections show that number should rise to 4,800 in the coming year. But with flat funding, Westchester — and counties across the state — will fall short. They will have no choice but to say “no” to families in need of support.

Parents will face impossible choices: should they leave the workforce or can they somehow come up with an extra $1,500 a month? Child care providers, who are already underpaid and overextended, will be forced to choose work as a care provider — or a better-paying job, worsening an already fragile system. We cannot allow this to happen.

 New York. We made a promise to families and providers: that we would make crucial investments in children and the child care workforce. We cannot build a program, urge families to sign up and then pull the rug out from under them.

We must act now, to meet the growing need and sustain the progress we’ve made. That means a significant increase in funding for CCAP in the 2025–26 state budget.

The future of New York’s children and the well-being of working families and the child care workforce depends on what we do next. I’m sure we can do the right thing.

State Sen. Shelley Mayer, a Democrat, represents the 37th District and is chair of the state Senate Education Committee.