Introduction to the Crisis
Ongoing budget disputes between New York City and Albany halted enrollment in a vital childcare voucher program Monday that serves more than 60,000 families statewide—many of them in the Bronx, where parents face the city’s highest childcare cost burden.
The Funding Dispute
First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro announced Monday that families applying for subsidies through the threatened Child Care Assistance Program would be waitlisted indefinitely, blaming Albany for the $350 million shortfall in funding needed to rescue the program.
“Today, the state has essentially forced us to have to begin putting eligible applications on a waiting list,” Mastro told reporters at City Hall. “To be clear, this is a step we did not want to have to take.”
The Mayor’s Budget
On Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams touted investments in childcare and education during a press event at Bayside High School in Queens, promoting his $115 billion “Best Budget Ever.” But notably absent was $350 million to match funds allocated by the state in its budget Tuesday to save the Child Care Assistance Program which is set to purge thousands of recipients from the program in coming weeks.
The Impact on Families
Without the funding, new eligible families cannot enroll and thousands of families in the Bronx will lose access to vouchers paying for their children’s childcare as early as this summer, adding to the city’s increasing affordability crisis and threatening parents’ ability to work and provide for their kids.
The State’s Position
Following his budget reveal, Adams vocally opposed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s suggestion that the city should foot half the bill for a program that has historically been fully funded at the state level. “This was their project,” Adams told reporters after the budget reveal, Thursday. He criticized the state for shifting the cost of the vouchers onto the city, calling it “wrong.”
An Outsized Impact on the Bronx
Much of the increase in the number of childcare vouchers issued can be linked to the Bronx. In 2023 when the state raised the threshold for income eligibility from 200% to 300% of the federal poverty level, the Administration for Children Services (ACS) organized a targeted outreach campaign in 17 community districts, more than half of which were in the Bronx, aimed at enrolling families in areas with the highest concentrations of poverty, unemployment, and inadequate childcare resources.
The Human Cost
Mayra Calderon, who has owned a home-based daycare in Longwood called Grow With Me Daycare since 2023, told the Bronx Times that all the families with children under her care use childcare vouchers. Without them, she said, their parents wouldn’t be able to afford the $400 a week that it costs to care for children under age two. “We live in a neighborhood where you’re not considered rich,” Calderon said. “Let’s put that first. We’re not rich. This neighborhood is not rich, it’s all working class and low-income families.”
It’s Not Just About Childcare
Advocates warned that the ripple effect of cutting off thousands of families from affordable childcare would have disastrous consequences for quality of life, deepening inequity and the city’s workforce and economy as a whole. Greg Morris, CEO of the NYC Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC), told the Bronx Times that a lack of affordable, reliable childcare can make it harder for working parents to maintain steady employment with decent wages.
The Economic Impact
The impact on working parents is a key driver behind Hochul’s focus on subsidies. She often speaks at events about when she couldn’t find childcare as a working mother and had to leave her own job. But it’s not just children and families who depend on the Child Care Assistance Program for economic mobility in the Bronx, local small business owners like Calderon will lose an important source of income if parents decided to remove their kids from her daycare due to concerns over affordability.
The Political Will Behind Vouchers
Bronx politicians have stepped up their advocacy for funding and legislation that supports Bronx residents struggling to find safe, affordable care. Bronx City Council Member Althea Stevens (D-16), who chairs the Committee on Children and Youth, penned a letter in March to Hochul and leaders of the state legislature that was co-signed by nearly every member of the city council, urging the state to fully fund the childcare voucher program.
Conclusion
The childcare voucher crisis in New York City, particularly in the Bronx, is a pressing issue that requires immediate attention and resolution. The dispute between the city and state over funding is putting the livelihoods of thousands of families at risk. It is essential for lawmakers to come to an agreement and find a solution to this crisis to ensure that families can access affordable childcare and maintain their economic stability.
FAQs
Q: What is the Child Care Assistance Program?
A: The Child Care Assistance Program is a vital childcare voucher program that serves more than 60,000 families statewide, many of them in the Bronx.
Q: What is the current issue with the program?
A: The program is facing a $350 million shortfall in funding, which has led to a halt in enrollment and the placement of new applicants on a waiting list.
Q: Who is responsible for funding the program?
A: The program has historically been fully funded by the state, but the city is being asked to foot half the bill.
Q: How will the lack of funding affect families?
A: The lack of funding will lead to thousands of families losing access to vouchers, making it difficult for them to afford childcare and maintain their economic stability.
Q: What are the long-term consequences of the crisis?
A: The crisis will have disastrous consequences for quality of life, deepening inequity and the city’s workforce and economy as a whole.
