child care

Every New Yorker deserves the freedom to work, study, and raise a family with dignity. But right now, too many working-class parents, especially mothers, and immigrants, are being forced to choose between their jobs and their children. Universal child care is not just a family issue. It is economic policy, gender justice, and immigrant justice rolled into one.

As State Senator, I will fight to push New York to the forefront in guaranteeing free, high-quality child care for every family and to treat the early childhood workforce with the respect and compensation they deserve.

1. Guarantee Child Care for Every Family

We will establish universal, publicly-funded child care for all children from birth through age four, making care free for low- and middle-income families and affordable for everyone else. We will create a legal entitlement to early care and education, just as we have for public school, so that every child has a guaranteed seat regardless of income, immigration status, or zip code. By investing directly in families and providers, we’ll ensure that every community including Western Queens has enough seats, shorter waitlists, and more options close to home.

2. Pay Parity and Dignity for the Workforce

The workers, largely women of color, who care for and educate our youngest New Yorkers have been underpaid and undervalued for too long. We will guarantee pay parity with public school teachers, including benefits, paid leave, and professional development. The State will set a minimum living-wage floor for all early education roles and establish a career ladder that rewards training, bilingual skill, and experience. Through direct state funding rather than reimbursement by attendance, we’ll stabilize income for providers, end administrative chaos, and make early childhood education a respected, sustainable career.

3. Care that Matches Real Life

Working families need care that fits their lives; not the other way around. The state will fund and regulate a mixed-delivery system that includes center-based programs, family child care homes, cooperatives, and community-based organizations. We will ensure there is a non-traditional hours fund so that nurses, delivery drivers, and hospitality workers who work nights or weekends have reliable, quality care when they need it. We’ll also expand support for children with special needs or disabilities, language-accessible programs, and culturally rooted care models that reflect the diversity of our families. By funding flexible, community-driven solutions, New York will lead the nation in making child care work for everyone; not just for the 9-to-5 schedule.

4. Build the Infrastructure of Care

New York cannot guarantee universal access without building the physical and social infrastructure to sustain it. We will invest in  funding for State Child Care Facilities to help open, renovate, and expand child care centers and family child care homes in every region. The state will streamline zoning and licensing, fast-track approvals for care facilities in schools, libraries, and public housing, and offer grants for safety upgrades, accessibility improvements, and energy-efficient retrofits. Every new public development, from housing to hospitals, should include child care as essential infrastructure. By treating care as we do roads and bridges, we will build an economy grounded in the wellbeing of families.

5. Create a Fair and Stable Funding Model

Universal child care is a permanent public good, and it deserves a permanent, reliable source of funding. We will finance this program through a combination of progressive revenue sources such as a small surcharge on ultra-high incomes, luxury real estate transactions, and the closure of outdated corporate tax loopholes. These dedicated funds will be protected from annual budget cuts and used exclusively for child care access, workforce pay, and capital investment. In addition, New York will aggressively pursue federal matching funds and create a public dashboard to ensure transparency and accountability. Our goal is simple: to make sure every dollar strengthens the system for families, not bureaucracy.

When we invest in child care, we invest in the future of New York. Families can work. Children can thrive. Small businesses can grow. And care workers can earn the dignity they deserve. This is not a luxury; it’s the foundation of an equitable economy. Together, we can make New York a place where every child is guaranteed care, every parent has peace of mind, and every provider earns a living wage.