New York City will move more than 10,000 children in low-income families off a wait list for vouchers for free childcare, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday.
The vouchers will go to children between the ages of 6 weeks and 13 years, as well as to children with special needs through age 19, City Hall said in a release.
The city started placing families on a wait list in May 2025 as the number of children who needed childcare vouchers surpassed availability, Mamdani said at a news conference.
More than 29,000 children are currently on the list, “with more being added by the day,” he said.
“Over the last few months, I have had the privilege of speaking with parents and childcare providers who have shared with me how much of a lifeline that program is. How painful it is for them or for their clients to be stuck on that wait list with no end in sight,” he said. “And today, I am so proud to announce that there is light at the end of the voucher tunnel.”
The city will start inviting waitlisted families to apply for vouchers on a rolling basis over the next few months, prioritizing families who make below 300% of the federal poverty line, families who are homeless, and families who have a child with special needs, the release said.
Eligible families will get a voucher that covers the cost of childcare at their provider of choice, according to the release.
Families will be able to use a new feature online to search for licensed childcare programs and filter for the ones that accept vouchers, the release noted.
Gov. Kathy Hochul previously pledged to invest $1.2 billion in the city’s universal childcare program, including $475 million to support and expand its voucher program, Mamdani said.
The city officially launched its free 2-K program last month, starting with around 2,000 2-year-olds.
“Bringing New York City closer to a future where every New Yorker can access universal childcare is about more than just lifting a financial burden from New Yorkers’ shoulders,” the mayor said. “It’s about building a city where the people know they can demand more from their government, and one where their government delivers more in kind.”