- Over 5,000 child centers throughout New York state could close with the end of the federally-funded Child Care Stabilization Program.
- Parents in New York pay the greatest share of their earnings on child care, according to The Century Foundation.
- Monroe County and state officials have offered up ways to fill the gap left by the end of the federal funding.
Over 250,000 children in New York could lose access to child care after federal funding supporting child care providers throughout the state ended last month.
If providers throughout the state are forced to close, the impact on both the businesses and parents would be detrimental.
In Rochester, there are currently 675 child care programs.
“A shortage of child care providers in our state means that too many working parents have to make the impossible choice between going to work and taking care of their kids,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said in a written statement. “A sudden lapse in federal funding that forces even more providers to close would be catastrophic for New York families.”
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What this means for NY child care providers, parents
At larger centers, it could most greatly affect employee pay and increase employee turnover rates, says Rochester’s Child Care Council Inc. CEO Jeff Pier.
“This funding is a great injection, but it’s not continual,” Pier said. “When you inject funds into a program, it’s hard for a person or an owner to have sustainable wage increases … because they’re not going to have that revenue coming in on a regular basis.”
And while the impact to these child care centers may not be immediate, he said there will be one.
“I think you’re going to see programs have to look at their bottom line and their budget and see how they want to allocate their resources,” Pier said. “I think down in New York City, you’re going to see a massive impact, but I think here, in upstate, it’s going to be slower.”
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As for parents, according to The Century Foundation, a progressive public policy think tank, “(They) pay the greatest share of their earnings on child care in New York.”
“We project that over 10,000 New York parents across the state would be forced out of the workforce, and an additional 74,000 forced to cut their hours, standing to lose a collective $846 million in household income,” The Century Foundation’s article on the end of the federal funds states.
Monroe County grants for child care providers
In Monroe County, the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency is funding a $300,000 investment to help the Rochester Childfirst Network reach its goal of launching 10 new in-home child care businesses in 2024 by providing grants.
The grants would give $20,000 to child care providers who want to launch an in-home child care business or who want to open a second location. The program will also provide grants of up to $2,000 to existing daycares to cover documented, eligible expenses.
Gillibrand announced legislation in September to try and soften the blow this loss of federal funding will have on child care centers around the country.
“New York State, upstate New York, Monroe County, specifically, is doing everything it can to help families afford care and help programs stay open,” Pier said.
We’d like to hear from you!
How are you being affected by the loss of federal funding?
If you’re a child care provider, have you had to close down your business? Are families with children in the child care system struggling to find a child care provider?
We’d love to hear your concerns, and explore them further with our coverage! Fill out the form below and your submission will go straight to a USA TODAY Network reporter. We may reach out to you if we want to know more about your experience.
Federal child care funding to end:Sept. 30 may represent child care cliff as emergency federal funding runs dry
USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz contributed to this report.
Emily Barnes is the New York State Team consumer advocate reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Barnes at [email protected] or on Twitter @byemilybarnes. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
MORE BACKGROUND:
- The Child Care Stabilization Act looks to provide $16 billion in mandatory funding to child care providers each year for the next five years, extending the federal program ending this month and helping to ensure providers can cover the costs of wages, benefits, rent, utilities and supplies.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul also included a $7.6 billion investment over four years in the state’s 2024 executive budget, which aims to make the child care system more accessible and affordable by expanding resources and creating a Workforce Retention Grant program, Employer Child Care Tax Credit and Employer-Supported Child Care Pilot program.
- And $15 billion in funding through the American Rescue Plan to expand the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which helps low-income families pay for child care, is still in use but is set to expire at the end of September 2024.
