PRESS RELEASE from GOV. KATHY HOCHUL

NEW YORK STATE — Governor Kathy Hochul on January 8 announced  the next step to deliver affordable, universal child care for children under five years of age across New York State. Hochul will partner with Mayor Zohran Mamdani to deliver free child care for two-year-olds in New York City, in addition to strengthening the existing 3K program to achieve universal care and ultimately, serve all families across the city.

In 2026, the State will continue to expand access to high-quality child care programs throughout the state, through a diversity of models, saving New York families billions of dollars each year. Since taking office, Governor Hochul has already taken major steps to expand access to affordable child care for families through an investment of more than $8 billion dollars in the State’s child care infrastructure, dramatically expanding access, as part of laying the groundwork for the implementation of universal child care statewide.

“There’s one thing that every family in New York can agree on, the cost of childcare is simply too high,” Hochul said. “As New York’s first mom Governor, fighting for New York’s families has always been at the core of my agenda. Since taking office, I’ve put families front and center, fighting to make our state more affordable and laying the groundwork to deliver universal childcare. Today, I’m proud to partner with Mayor Mamdani and leaders across our state to make this a reality, turning that foundation into a concrete roadmap that will transform the lives of working parents and kids across our state.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said,“Over the past 14 months, a movement was born to fight for a city where every New Yorker could afford a life of dignity and every family could afford to raise their kids. Today, Governor Hochul and I meet that movement as we celebrate our joint commitment to universal child care. This victory represents much more than a triumph of city and state government working in partnership — it is proof that when New Yorkers come together, we can transform the way the government serves working families.”

Governor Hochul’s State of the State investments will commit to delivering affordable childcare for nearly 100,000 more kids. Through this $1.7 billion increased investment, the total FY27 investment will be $4.5 billion for childcare and prekindergarten services statewide.

As part of Governor Hochul’s 2026 State of the State, this proposal will:

Make Pre-K truly universal statewide,
Partner with New York City to launch the new Mayor’s signature 2-Care program and finally realize the promise of universal 3K access in New York City,
Support other counties in building out new child care pilots that offer high-quality affordable care to families regardless of income, and
Expand child care subsidies to tens of thousands of additional families.

Alongside these commitments, the Governor will launch an Office of Child Care and Early Education to steer the implementation of high-quality, universal child care for New York families.

The announcement builds on steps that Governor Hochul has taken to expand access to affordable child care for families, laying the groundwork for the implementation of universal child care statewide. Specifically, the State has already:

More than doubled the number of children served by child care vouchers in just four years, with an almost 25 percent increase in the past 12 months alone.
Provided more than $8.6 billion for child care, including more than doubling funding for subsidies.
Dramatically expanded the number of families who are eligible by increasing the maximum income from 200 percent of Federal poverty level (roughly $64,000 for a family of four) to the maximum allowed under Federal law — 85 percent of Statewide median income (roughly $114,000 for a family of four).
Made child care more affordable by reducing the amount those receiving subsidy pay by capping costs at $15 per week for most families.
Increased reimbursement rates for providers by nearly 50 percent, helping providers retain staff and provide quality care for children across the state.
Supported the future creation of thousands of child care seats and new centers through more than $150M in capital funding.