Governor Hochul Proposes $110 Million to Address Child Care Needs in New York State
In her third proposal for the 2025 State of the State, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a plan to improve child care accessibility and affordability across New York. The proposed $110 million Child Care Construction Fund aims to tackle child care deserts by building new facilities and repairing existing ones. This initiative complements a broader effort to achieve universal child care and support working families.
The Child Care Construction Fund will provide grants to non-profit and for-profit child care centers, as well as school-age programs, to create or renovate safe and modern facilities. Specific funding will also be allocated to family child care providers to assist with repairs and improvements. Technical assistance will be offered by the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to help small businesses access these funds, fostering a more equitable distribution of resources.
“I'm going to propose in my State of the State one week from today $110 million to help build more child care centers. Because I've heard from everybody we have a shortage of facilities. And we have an amazing program that if your family earns $108,000 or less, your child care costs can be capped at $15 a week. Think about that. Think about the money that's back in your pockets. But it only helps if there's a place to go. That sounds nice on paper, but if you're in a child care desert, it doesn't matter. So let's build more.”
Governor Kathy Hochul
Governor Hochul’s plan includes the creation of a "substitute pool" of vetted professionals who can fill in for absent child care staff. This initiative is designed to prevent facility closures due to staffing shortages, ensuring uninterrupted care for families and building a reliable workforce pipeline for child care providers.
The Governor also announced the formation of the New York Coalition for Child Care, a partnership involving business leaders, labor unions, tax experts, and child care providers. This coalition will focus on expanding the existing child care assistance system and developing sustainable strategies to make child care more affordable for middle-class families not currently eligible for subsidies.
“We're going to continue the Coalition on Child Care Task Force and move toward, ultimately, universal child care. We need to get there… because it's a lot cheaper to put your kid through college than it is to have them take care of child care: 155 percent more expensive to put your child in child care than it is to send them to a public college in the State of New York… So the message is this: New York families, we hear you. We know the struggles, we know what you're going through, and we're going to do everything in our power to deliver policies, programs and financial support to help you get through these tough times so you look back and say, ‘It was hard, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of challenges with the little ones, but we got through because we had a state who believed in all of us and we made a difference.”
Governor Kathy Hochul
Governor Hochul highlighted her commitment to supporting families through a record-breaking $7 billion investment in child care. Recent initiatives include raising the eligibility threshold for child care assistance and launching an online application portal to streamline access. The state has also increased reimbursement rates for providers and incentivized care during non-traditional work hours.
Additionally, the Governor’s efforts to support child care providers include partnering with businesses to encourage employer-supported child care and establishing programs like the Business Navigator and Family Child Care Network.