CALL FOR CARES
State assemblymembers discuss continued support for childcare industry
MALTA, N.Y. » State Assemblymembers Carrie Woerner, John McDonald III, and Patricia Fahy came together to talk about their ongoing support for the childcare industry during a statewide “Child Care Day of Action.”
The three legislators pledged to push for the release of desperately needed monies that were allocated by the CARES Act, but not yet distributed.
In April, the state received $162 million for childcare funding. A large part of it went to providing PPE and cleaning equipment to childcare facilities. The rest of it, about $70 million, is still sitting unspent. Woerner, McDonald, and Fahy are calling on state government to release the funds so they can be put towards direct support of facilities.
Childcare has been deemed an essential service since the start of the pandemic. At a press conference, held at the Maple Leaf Child Care Center, the politicians elaborated on how significantly childcare services impact the whole economy.
“Childcare is essential if we’re going to turn around the dire financial situation we see ourselves in,” said Fahy, DAlbany. “I commend all the childcare workers who really stepped up. The time is now - we had scarcity before, we had
The three legislators pledged to push for the release of desperately needed monies that were allocated by the CARES Act, but not yet distributed.
talk of resources before, and the pandemic has really brought those issues to light.”
“Childcare is economic development,” said McDonald, D-Cohoes. “Right now, we’re getting ready for kids to go back to school, and it’s also time for parents to go back to work. They need to know there are going to be services available.
“We need the government to distribute these funds, and we need it distributed ASAP.”
Maple Leaf Child Care owner Linda Moran and owner Katie Dobies hope to be able to reap the benefits of funds from the CARES Act soon. Their facilities are currently operating at reduced capacity, which is not sustainable in the long run, but at the moment it’s better than having to shut down entirely.
Some day care canters were not so lucky when the pandemic hit.
“We’re so thankful that we’ve been able to stay open through the height of the pandemic,” Dobies said.
Hit the hardest from the effects of the pandemic are home day care owners like Pam Wells, who is fighting hard to get the support that’s needed. Her day care center, Wells Wonder World, had to close and has remained closed during the pandemic.
“Child care centers across the state have suffered massive financial losses,” Wells commented. “Communities served by, and facilities staffed by women of color have been hit the hardest. Enrollment is down, but the cost of child care has increased.
“How do we stay open? We need help.”
Wells is also pushing for increased subsidization of child care services for families in need, something that Woerner, D-Round Lake, said funds from the CARES Act can be put towards.
“We’ve been working diligently at getting the state’s subsidy payback rate to go back to the 75th percentile, up from where it currently is at the 69th percentile,” Wells explained. “The system is also currently attendancebased, and we want it to be enrollment-based.
“Private-pay parents pay based on enrollment, and we want our subsidizedpay parents to pay based on enrollment too.”
Woerner, McDonald, and Fahy are among 83 legislators who have signed a letter to the governor demanding that the CARES Act funding be released from holdings to providers across the state.