New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the start of universal childcare for 2-year-olds on Jan. 8, aligning with Hochul’s statewide childcare goals, including universal prekindergarten and new childcare pilot programs.
The childcare program, called “2-Care,” is set to begin during the fall in NYC areas considered “high-need.”.
This move also brings Mamdani a step closer to his free childcare goal for children between six weeks old and 5 years old — a goal that has originated since his campaign.
Child care access would allow parents to have “high-quality employment” and businesses to “continue uninterrupted operations and avoid productivity losses due to parent absences,” according to public policy think tank Rockefeller Institute of Government.
While the goals of universal child care for NYC and New York State’s children are notable and stand to benefit many parents and children, its funding sources must be made known to the public, regardless of whether universal child care directly affects an individual.
Mamdani’s free child care goal is estimated to cost around $6 billion each year, according to Gothamist. The program, 2-Care, which will launch with 2,000 spots, will cost at least $73 million. For the program to be “truly universal,” it would have to serve at least 60,000 children, which means it would require more funding.
Hochul said she planned on “investing $1.7 billion in the near term” for the child care program and the statewide goal of universal pre-kindergarten, bringing spending on child care to $4.5 billion for the upcoming fiscal year in April.
In an interview with NPR, Mamdani said, “the state will commit $1.21 billion for New York City” child care. It is unclear where the funding will be reallocated from.
Hochul had also expressed uncertainty over funding the expansion of universal child care, which raises doubts if the program can be sustained in the long term. Families should not have to endure an arduous search for affordable child care in addition to the question of how child care will be funded.
