Millions and billions of dollars are needed to expand free child care, members of the city’s Office of Child Care say.
This during the hearing seeking to approve the ‘Universal Child Care in NYC’ law, which would improve child care for everyone in the city.
The legislation was proposed in March of this year by Councilwoman Jennifer Gutiérrez.
“Whether you have documents or not, it doesn’t matter, the idea is to cover every New York family,” said the councilwoman.
The bill seeks to create an Office of Child Care that would be responsible for improving and expanding care in child care centers throughout the city. Establishing free child care for all city residents from six weeks old to five years old.
“We need the support of the state and the federal government,” added the councilor.
The city has different free child care programs such as the ‘Child Care Assistant’ program, but according to the proponents of this law, many New Yorkers do not qualify due to their income.
“The reality is that these programs are not serving everyone, they are not giving the opportunity to all families,” said Councilwoman Gutiérrez.
The vice president of the municipal council, Diana Ayala, sent a statement in this regard.
“Without affordable child care I would not be standing before you today as Vice President, a testament to the impact this resource has on the lives of New Yorkers and our society collectively,” Ayala said.
Among the modifications, they ask the state to eliminate the requirement for minimum wages and hours of work for applicants.
“There are many opportunities for us to improve that system, because the reality is that the system as it exists now existed like this 30, 40, 50 years ago and we have not invested anything to improve it, as well as to improve our communities and our economy,” he said. Gutierrez.
They hope to make the bill part of the next declared city council meeting and vote on the legislation.
2023-09-22 13:42:00
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