The federal government has designated $70 million in child care assistance in New York State, which will benefit parents with children five years old and younger, especially in communities with little or no capacity to offer this service.
Governor Kathy Hochul and Congressman Adriano Espalliat, who pioneered the idea, chose the Washington Heights Inwood Community Center to make the announcement.
“We have fought for these resources to reach Upper Manhattan and through this program new resources will arrive, new spaces, but it is also a program that gives space to programs that already exist as well,” said Espaillat.
For too long, families in child care underserved areas have been left behind. I congratulate @GovKathyHochul for bringing $70 million in aid to New York families who need it most. pic.twitter.com/cP9959of2S
– Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) July 25, 2022
The five boroughs will receive just over $16 million to be distributed to 70 children’s centers. That is the amount of the total that will favor 344 of these places in the entire state and will create about three thousand quotas, according to Hochul.
“As a young mother, I had to leave my job because we couldn’t access affordable child care,” Hochul wrote in a social media post.
“That’s why I’m proud that we’re investing nearly $70 million to support new child care providers. This will expand affordable options and provide needed relief from rising costs of living,” the message continues.
As a young mom, I had to leave my job because we couldn’t access affordable child care.
That’s why I’m proud we’re investing nearly $70 million to support new child care providers. This will expand affordable options & deliver needed relief to confront higher costs of living.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) July 25, 2022
This fits perfectly with Helen Lara, mother of a four-year-old boy, who says she tried to take her son to the summer school where the news broke and could not.
“It seems very good to me because I, ‘actually’, tried to enter him in the summer program but they were charging about four thousand dollars, and I am a teacher,” said Lara. “That they give me the application that I apply right now” .
As a teacher, Lara understands the benefit.
“Mostly the children in our community have nowhere to go in the summer, and they lose everything they learn during the year, they can’t keep it,” added Lara.
The program, which is part of New York’s $7 billion budget over five years for child care, does not, however, include children of undocumented parents. Because the fund is federal, it has limits.
“Unfortunately it does not include them and that is something that is pending in Washington, how can we help the children of undocumented immigrants,” added Espaillat.
Taking advantage of her visit to Manhattan, the governor also signed a law that eliminates the tax on the purchase of diapers. She assured that it will be a help to mothers who spend up to 40% of their salary doing so.
Congressman Adriano Espaillat says that in the not too distant future the children of undocumented immigrants could also benefit, a new document would have to be drafted with a language that includes them.
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