Child care providers and supporters held rallies across the five boroughs Monday to call attention to the impact child care has on the economy and bring awareness to the crisis facing the state.

Advocates gathered in Crotona Park to call for the City Council to address the backlog in subsidy vouchers preventing families from accessing vouchers to child care, along with creating living wages for providers and affordable, accessible child care for all.

Rally goers called on lawmakers to encourage changes at the federal level, including a racially equitable system for all children and families.