Gillibrand, Hochul call for aid in remarks at Unity House
TROY, N.Y. » Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand spoke at a press conference late Monday morning, calling for critical support for the child care industry.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, child care providers have faced severe attendance shortages, leading to reduction in staffing or having to shut their doors completely. As Stage 4 of New York’s reopening plan continues and families start to return to work, many are faced with no child care options.
Standing in front of Unity House, whose daycare center A Child’s Place is one of the few child care providers in the Capital Region that has managed to stay open and fully functional during the pandemic, Gillibrand, New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and others spoke to the importance of financial aid for the industry.
“Without federal funding, the childcare industry is on the brink of collapse,” Gillibrand stated.
The Troy native described how a collapse of the childcare industry would start a domino effect that collapses the entire economy — parents who are forced to stay home and take care of their children can’t go to work, causing not only a loss of jobs but a loss of functionality in the industries they work in, bringing the whole economy to a halt.
Also part of the problematic equation is the unpleasant fact that tuition for a year of child care currently costs more than a year of tuition at any college in the state. Gillibrand stated that she has long-term plans to help correct this, including four bills that will lower the cost of childcare and provide more support to early childhood education resources.
However, the more immediate need is getting child care centers across the state reopened and restaffed, with all the necessary resources in place to meet CDC standards.
“Childcare providers are willing to take the necessary steps, but those steps cost money, money that they don’t have,” Gillibrand said.
The senator is calling for the next federal stimulus package to include at $50 billion Childcare Stabilization Fund. This funding would go directly to child care centers across the state, giving them the resources needed to get back up and running.
Hochul agreed with the senator, saying “This financial assistance is essential, or the state will not come back on all four cylinders. This is no longer a problem for just mothers, it’s a problem for the family, the community, the nation.”
Susan Rimkunas, director of A Child’s Place, added her support to Gillibrand’s cause.
“We need to make up for lost time,” she stated, describing how important it is that children be able to return to school safely. “We need PPE resources, and passing the cost of those resources onto parents is not fair or sustainable.”
Gillibrand described the child care industry as the most essential business there is, saying “child care workers are the essential workers behind the essential workers.”