10 May 2022
$50 million will be funded through philanthropy, $50 million will come from federal and state block grants over the next four years
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced new funding for an upcoming Child Care Quality and Innovation Initiative for New York. The funding, announced last night at Robin Hood’s annual benefit to support poverty-fighting efforts in New York City, includes $50 million from Robin Hood and $50 million in additional funding by the city over the next four years, as a result of state and federal block grant funding. The Child Care Quality and Innovation Initiative will be part of the Adams administration’s broader child care plan, which will be released in the coming weeks.
“Investing in child care is a down payment on progress and the future of our children. We need to get New Yorkers back to work and lower the cost of child care — which will lift both families and remove the barriers that hold too many parents back,” said Mayor Adams. “We are excited to partner with Robin Hood on this $100 million Child Care Quality and Innovation Initiative to not only position New York as a leader in the sector, but to take major steps toward a new, more equitable city for all.”
“The partnership between Robin Hood and City Hall to build the Child Care Quality and Innovation Initiative is fundamentally transforming child care for working families across New York City,” said Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives. “For too long, families — primarily women and women of color — have faced a myriad of barriers to accessing quality child care. With this $100 million commitment, we’re one step closer to building a child care system that finally works for New Yorkers work.”
“As we recover from the pandemic, poverty remains persistent and pervasive in New York, but we know that investing in affordable, high-quality child care will lift up families in all five boroughs. Access to high quality and affordable child care sets a child up for success in achieving developmentally and academically and gets parents back to work – that’s good for the economy and good for fighting poverty,” said Robin Hood CEO Richard R. Buery, Jr. “That’s why we’ve brought together our generous supporters and Mayor Adams at Robin Hood’s 2022 Annual Benefit and are committed to investing $100 million in reimagining New York’s child care sector and giving every family the opportunity to break the cycle of breaking poverty.”
The Child Care Quality and Innovation Initiative will seek to make high-quality, affordable child care more accessible, while improving the quality of care provided to children in New York. This new funding can be used to develop innovative solutions for the sector, such as expanding access in childcare deserts – neighborhoods without enough licensed child care providers, provide options outside of traditional work hours to accommodate parents with atypical schedules, and workforce development programs that help promote quality across New York City, including encouraging models that more fairly compensate providers, reduce turnover, and create opportunities for growth within the sector.
Research has shown that the most impactful investment we can make in fighting poverty starts in childhood, providing returns to society that far outweigh the costs. Currently, however, more than half (52 percent) of New York City families with children under the age of four cannot afford childcare, and since the start of the pandemic, one in four parents has had to turn down a job, change jobs, or take time off due to childcare needs. Currently, there is only one available childcare slot for every five babies in New York City. Investing in New York City’s child care system will help reduce poverty, improve family economic stability, ensure healthy child development, and increase the ability of parents and caregivers – especially women – to work and earn more.
Today’s announcement of the Child Care Quality and Innovation Initiative builds on the Adams Administration’s call for public-private partnerships in New York City and is an unprecedented opportunity to work together to catalyze improvements in child care that span generations will have lasting impact.
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