More help for child care expenses

New York’s eligibility threshold will rise to 300 percent of the federal poverty level

Thousands of families will now be eligible for child care subsidies as part of a $2 billion expansion of child care funding in New York.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that the spending was part of the state’s recovery from the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as a recognition of the lack of child care options for families across the state.

Hochul recalled having to leave her job to care for her child and how that affected her career.

“These historic investments in New York state’s child care system will allow us to forge a new path forward for parents, especially mothers,” she said in a statement. “It is the right thing to do, the moral thing to do, and will supercharge our economic recovery and support working families.”

The pandemic decimated the state’s child care industry, and as businesses reopened many families struggled to find day care options for young children.

About 1,500 providers closed between April 2020 and last February — a span of just 10 months, according to data from the Schuyler Center, a research and advocacy group focused on family issues. And the Capital Region was considered a child care desert, with not enough providers for the number of children in need, prior to the pandemic.

As part of the investment, the state’s Office of Children and Family Services will expand the eligibility levels for families in August 2022 to up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $83,250 for a family of four.

The state also recently released $30 million in federal funding to expand child care programs in areas of the state without sufficient child care slots.

The state has received more than 1,700 applications from people hoping to establish new child care programs in areas of New York facing critical shortages. Awards for that program are expected in the coming weeks, Hochul’s office said.

The $2 billion includes $894 million in state Child Care Block Grant funding passed in the recent state budget, more than $500 million in funds previously allocated to local departments of social services districts that remains unspent, and more than $600 million in existing COVID-19 pandemic funding.

For additional information on this funding or the Child Care Assistance Program, families and providers should contact their local department of social services.