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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
More than 29,000 children are currently on the list, “with more being added by the day,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver 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,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd today, I am so proud to announce that there is light at the end of the voucher tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Eligible families will get a voucher that covers the cost of childcare at their provider of choice, according to the release.<\/p>\n
Families will be able to use a new feature online<\/a> to search for licensed childcare programs and filter for the ones that accept vouchers, the release noted.<\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul previously pledged to invest $1.2 billion in the city\u2019s universal childcare program<\/a>, including $475 million to support and expand its voucher program, Mamdani said.<\/p>\n