Child care in New York City has been in crisis for decades.<\/p>\n
Ten years ago, City Hall launched universal pre-K for 4-year-olds to help ease parents\u2019 high child-care costs.<\/p>\n
Five years later, 3-K for 3-year-olds aimed to do the same.<\/p>\n
Now, with the crisis persisting, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani last month announced plans to expand those programs further<\/a> with free child care for all 2-year-olds\u00a0by 2030, with the rollout beginning this year.<\/p>\n Parents were excited.\u00a0<\/p>\n Parents were lied to.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not going to happen \u2014 because building on the existing system is a recipe for disaster.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s cramped public schools lack the space to house its current preschool programs, and mandatory class-size caps<\/a> mean they\u2019ll soon have even fewer classrooms available for younger children.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why 60% of today\u2019s enrolled tots attend pre-K and 3-K classes run by Community Based Organizations.<\/p>\n The program for 2-year-olds would have to piggyback on the CBO system \u2014 and that system is already stretched to the breaking point<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you expand programs without stabilizing the ones already in place,\u201d special-education expert Joy Farina Foskett told me, \u201cyou\u2019re asking programs to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest issue is a critical teacher shortage, driven largely by disparities in\u00a0teacher pay.<\/p>\n The starting salary for a new public-school teacher with a bachelor\u2019s degree and no experience is\u00a0$71,314<\/a> \u00a0\u2014 while a new teacher in a CBO can earn as little as\u00a0$34,991 to start, the\u00a0city comptroller\u2019s office reported.<\/p>\n That drives high teacher turnover, which is extraordinarily harmful to the youngest children<\/a>.<\/p>\n For little ones, \u201cstable relationships with caregivers are foundational to learning, emotional regulation and a sense of safety,\u201d Foskett said.<\/p>\n \u201cHigh teacher turnover is not just a workforce issue; it is a child development issue.\u201d<\/p>\n The caregiver revolving door \u201chas real measurable consequences, such as disrupted attachments,\u201d agreed Lori Cangiolose of Staten Island\u2019s The Playgroup Experience.<\/p>\n \u201cStability is fundamental at this age, and turnover disturbs that,\u201d she said. \u201cFamilies have to repeatedly build relationships and trust with new teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n Another major issue: Expanding the city\u2019s child-care system will mean enrolling more preschoolers with special needs.<\/p>\n Already, said Foskett, \u201cCBOs are increasingly serving children who require inclusive, developmentally responsive support, yet often go without sufficient staffing [or] specialized services.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had one child who would throw materials, push furniture and scream,\u201d recalled Rebecca Schneider-Kaplan of The Children\u2019s Center in Staten Island. \u201cThe other students were very upset when this would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n In the class of 18 3-year-olds, led by a team of one teacher and one assistant, \u201cwe didn\u2019t have enough teachers to manage the situation,\u201d she confessed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very concerned that in case of an emergency, it would be difficult to manage that many children with just two people.\u201d<\/p>\n Another concern in an emergency situation is the lack of on-site security.<\/p>\n \u201cMost CBOs do not have security of any kind, and none of them have school safety agents,\u201d said Chloe Pashman, a school director in The Bronx.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had a parent mugged in broad daylight in front of the school while he was holding his pre-K child, strange people hanging around the playground attached to our school, and people physically fighting out front,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet opinions and commentary from our columnists\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n On top of all these issues, Hochul\u2019s bare-bones 2Care proposal suggests that the expansion would rely in large part on\u00a0family child-care providers\u00a0who already run day-care businesses from their homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the city launched universal pre-K and 3-K, private preschools were \u201cforced to join the city\u2019s program or [would] be forced to close our doors,\u201d one director told me in confidence.<\/p>\n But \u201cthe funding and support have never matched expectations placed on programs, educators and owners.\u201d<\/p>\n Will that be true for the city\u2019s thousands of small family providers as well \u2014 and will they too be subject to bargain-basement wages and deficient security?<\/p>\n Pashman thinks that\u2019s exactly what would happen.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of our staff is not white, and the majority are women,\u201d she noted. \u201cThe city has gotten away with loading 3-K and pre-K on the backs of these women \u2014 why wouldn\u2019t they try it with 2-year-olds? It\u2019s a great deal for them. They get us all on the cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to see why parents are excited by the Hochul-Mamdani promise of free child care<\/a> in a city with a sky-high cost of living.\u00a0<\/p>\n But as a working parent myself, I can\u2019t stomach the thought of that benefit coming at such a price.<\/p>\n \u201cAgainst this backdrop, proposals to expand programming such as 2-K or infant and toddler care raise serious concerns,\u201d Foskett said. \u201cExpansion without reform risks weakening the very system NYC depends on.\u201d<\/p>\n Reform must come first.<\/p>\n Alina Adams is the author of \u201cGetting into NYC Kindergarten\u201d and the producer of NYCSchoolSecrets.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t