How parents and officials hope to bring New York universal child care over 5 years

As families continue to flee New York City over child care costs, a parent-led advocacy group is releasing a five-year proposal calling for free statewide universal child care for children as young as six weeks old.

But the ambitious proposal released on Tuesday by New Yorkers United for Child Care — a year-old coalition of parents that rose to prominence opposing Mayor Eric Adams’ plans to scale back an expansion of 3-K — comes with significant challenges.

The group, which is supported by several city and state lawmakers, estimates a $12.7 billion annual cost, adding about 5% to the state's current budget. It proposes funding the plan with some combination of a capital-gains tax, corporate tax or high-income earners tax, and argues that the return on investment would be an economic boon for New York.

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Democrat who supports the plan, said that although universal child care is “overwhelmingly popular” with constituents, it's historically been difficult for lawmakers to get into the budget.

“A lot of people in government who either don't have kids themselves or who had kids a long time ago don't fully appreciate just how difficult it is today, in this moment, 2024, for a working family to afford both housing and child care," Gounardes said.

Any significant budget proposal would also have to be negotiated with Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. The plan far exceeds the $7 billion for child care over four years she previously committed to in 2022. And Republican state legislators earlier this year proposed a different approach, seeking expanded tax credits for families and tax breaks for child care providers.

New Yorkers United for Child Care estimates that New York City alone lost $23 billion in economic activity in 2022 because parents dropped out of the workforce or cut back on hours to take care of a child. The group said it based that figure on research from the city’s Economic Development Corporation.

"This is not a pie-in-the-sky idea,” said Rebecca Bailin, executive director of New Yorkers United for Child Care. “This is something that is totally doable. Look, we've done it for K-12, and we've even done it for younger ages in New York City.”

Bailin added that people generally don't question why the government pays for K-12 education and care.

“Why should we question whether we, as a government, as a society, pay for free care, kids at the most critical time in their development, and for families at their most economically and physically, frankly, vulnerable time in their life?” she said.

Her group has also cited the example of Quebec, saying the Canadian province's decadeslong universal child care program has paid for itself.

New Yorkers United for Child Care's proposal would eventually make child care free for kids from six weeks old to age 5 across the state. It calls for streamlining the child care system statewide: Under the plan, parents would ultimately be able to easily apply to licensed day care providers nearby, and care would be covered from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with options for additional hours.

The plan recommends that the state scale up its current public child care programs, like its Child Care Assistance Program, over the course of five years. It also proposes making 3-K and pre-K universal in the first year of implementation before expanding child care to younger children as the program ramps up.

“We can't turn it on all on in one night or in one day,” Bailin said.

New York City first gained universal pre-K under previous Mayor Bill De Blasio, who hoped to eventually expand it to universal 3-K. But this year saw a pitched budget battle in the city, after advocates, including New Yorkers United for Child Care, and city councilmembers opposed Mayor Adams’ plan to scale back planned funding. Ultimately, Adams agreed to restore some of that funding, opening more 3-K seats, though the city still lacks enough 3-K seats for all families.

The city has been facing an affordability crisis as a result of rising housing and child care costs that worsened with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report released over the summer by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, families with children ages 6 or younger are twice as likely to leave the city as those without children.

Bailin from New Yorkers United for Child Care said that's a problem for elected officials to solve, rather than the private sector.

“Clearly this isn't working for anybody and there is no private market fix for this problem,” she said. “The government has to step in because the child care business cannot charge more, because parents can't pay more and they can't start paying their workers less because workers are already making such little money — the people that are taking care of our children.”

Calls for universal child care have grown over the last several years across both the city and state. A bill by City Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez to create an office of child care and establish free child care for the city gained dozens of sponsors, according to Jacobin magazine. And for several years, state Sen. Jabari Brisport has sponsored a universal care bill of his own, though it hasn’t come up for a vote.

New Yorkers United for Child Care plans to rally on Tuesday in support of its plan. Officials including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, City Comptroller Brad Lander and several members of the City Council and state legislature were expected to join.

The group's report estimates New Yorkers spend $14 billion on child care annually, based on Census Household Pulse Survey data. According to the report, the average New York family with an infant spends $21,826 on care annually. Across the state, a family with just one child spends an average 18% of its income on child care, the group said. In New York City, that figure grows to 25% of a single-child family's income.

State Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, who represents a Long Island district just outside of the city and supports New Yorkers United for Child Care, said the recent election proved affordability is at the top of New Yorkers' minds. She said she sees child care as a solution to many of the problems families in the state face.

“It requires political will and a lot of investment that I think people are now ready for, with inflation at its highest levels and with families leaving the state because of the lack of affordability and accessibility," she said. "We really need to have a bold vision in our state and provide convenient, accessible, easy-to-apply-to programs for families."