Bronx parents struggle with child care as state and city feud over voucher program
On Monday, the city said it would stop enrollment in the voucher program because the governor’s recent budget requires New York City to match the state’s $350 million in funding.
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The city and state are fighting over who should pay for the New York State Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) - and it’s leaving families caught in the middle.
On Monday, the city said it would stop enrollment in the voucher program because the governor’s recent budget requires New York City to match the state’s $350 million in funding. The program offsets the rising cost of child care for more than 70,000 New York families. Eligible parents can receive on average $300 a week.
“While we will continue to work with and implore our state partners to restore state funding and continue to fully fund this state program … the state has essentially forced us to have to begin putting eligible applications on a waitlist,” said First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro. “The level of funding and how it is distributed to localities has always been determined by the state.”
However, the governor’s office says this “status quo” can no longer continue.
“If we are serious about providing comprehensive, affordable child care for working families, then these costs must be a shared responsibility between the City and the State," a spokesperson from the governor's office said in a statement.
Bronx parents and day care owners are already feeling the effects.
Mayra Calderon, of Grow With Me day care, tells News 12 that all of the kids she looks after have parents who use vouchers.
Calderon opened her day care in 2023 after transitioning from her career as a teacher.
She says "the blame game" happening between the state and city leaves low-income, working parents in The Bronx the most vulnerable, particularly because waiting to get approved for a voucher can take months.
The 2023 Early Childhood Poverty Tracker report found that nearly one third of working parents reported that disruptions to childcare kept them from advancing in the workplace.
Sources from the governor’s office said that Gov. Kathy Hochul has worked to reduce the cost of child care by expanding eligibility and reducing co-pays. Those sources reported that New York City contributes less than 6% of what the state provides in funding toward child care in New York City.
