I’m

sure

many

of

you

don’t

need

me

to

say

this,

but

child

care

in

New

York,

specifically

in

rural

areas,

is

broken

and

needs

to

be

fixed.

In

fact,

64%

of

New

Yorkers

are

in

a

child-care

desert,

which

makes

programs

such

as

New

York’s

Child

Care

Assistance

Program

(CCAP)

invaluable.

CCAP

is

a

program

that

helps

qualifying

families

find

and

afford

child

care.

Due

to

funding

gaps,

however,

many

counties

throughout

the

state

are

forced

to

pause

applications,

leaving

families

in

the

dark.

It’s

apparent

that

in

our

current

economy,

everyone

needs

a

full-time

or

part-time

job

to

make

ends

meet.

When

the

child-care

gap

happens,

this

not

only

impacts

families,

but

also

businesses

and

industry

because

of

the

lack

of

productivity.

Recently

in

Albany,

I

joined

my

good

friend

Assemblyman

Matt

Simpson

(R,C-Adirondack)

at

a

press

conference

to

call

for

CCAP

to

be

fully

funded.

We

heard

from

stakeholders

who

are

dealing

with

the

reality

of

the

broken

child-care

system

and

saw

there

are

real-life

consequences

for

Albany’s

disastrous

policies.

During

that

press

conference,

we

called

for

a

more

stable

funding

structure

for

CCAP,

as

well

as

other

policies

that

would

make

child

care

more

affordable

and

support

provider

growth.

Many

of

these

policies

are

from

our

Assembly

Republican

Conference’s

A

Blueprint

for

Childcare

(ABC)

Plan.

These

policies

include

providing

tax

relief

for

families

and

providers

by

expanding

and

enhancing

tax

credits

to

lower

out-of-pocket

child-care

costs,

increasing

incentives

to

support

child-care

providers

and

exploring

targeted

tax

relief

options

to

reduce

operating

costs

for

providers.

It

would

also

improve

the

affordability

and

availability

of

care

by

promoting

flexible

child-care

models,

including

non-traditional

hours

to

better

meet

the

needs

of

families,

reducing

regulatory

barriers

that

limit

the

creation

and

expansion

of

child-care

providers

and

supporting

innovative

solutions

to

increase

provider

capacity

and

parental

choice.

I

am

proud

to

support

these

proposals

because

no

family

should

have

to

make

the

choice

between

going

to

work

to

put

food

on

the

table

or

making

sure

their

child

is

taken

care

of.

As

the

representative

of

a

rural

district,

I

have

seen

firsthand

just

how

broken

our

child-care

system

really

is.

It

is

abundantly

clear

something

needs

to

be

done,

and

while

no

single

piece

of

legislation

will

fix

things

overnight,

to

not

do

anything

is

simply

not

an

option.

That

is

why

I

am

calling

on

my

colleagues

to

fully

fund

CCAP

and

pass

the

ABC

Plan.

I

also

urge

the

governor

to

sign

these

bills

into

law

when

they

come

to

her

desk.

I

will

continue

to

work

every

day

in

Albany

to

make

life

more

affordable

for

you,

and

child

care

is

a

part

of

it.

Story Continues Below Adverts

To

read

more

about

our

plan,

you

can

see

our

website:

https://www.nygoppolicy.com/childcareplan

As

always,

please

feel

free

to

reach

out

to

my

office

at

any

time.

I

work

for

you

and

always

want

to

hear

any

concerns

you

may

have.

Assemblyman

Angelino

represents

the

121st 

Assembly

District,

which

includes

parts

of

Broome

County,

Delaware

County,

Madison

County,

Chenango

County

and

Otsego

County.

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Assemblyman

Angelino

on

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