The Mamdani administration is notifying 3,000 families languishing on a waitlist for subsidized childcare that they can finally get vouchers for their children.<\/p>\n
The families are among nearly 30,000 awaiting vouchers in the Child Care Assistance Program<\/a>, which helps low-income New Yorkers afford childcare or after-school care for children between six weeks and 13 years old.<\/p>\n Childcare providers and early education experts have long called on the administration to clear the swelling waitlist<\/a> as part of the Mamdani administration\u2019s plan to build a universal childcare system.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised to move 10,000 families off the waitlist<\/a> using additional state dollars to fund the popular vouchers. The city is also covering all co-payments and fees<\/a>, making care entirely free.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is about serving low-income families, and that is of utmost importance, but it also functions to help stabilize these family childcare programs that aren’t part of the New York City Public Schools systems yet,\u201d said Lauren Melodia, director of economic and fiscal policies at The Center for New York City Affairs.<\/p>\n Last week, the Administration for Children\u2019s Services, which oversees the voucher program, sent letters and emails to thousands of families who have been waiting since last May, telling them they could reapply for a voucher. City data show nearly three-quarters of those children are 5 or younger. About 800 are school-age and need afterschool care.<\/p>\n Parents have 60 days to apply and will receive a voucher if they remain eligible. A family of four can qualify if they earn less than $117,000 a year.<\/p>\n Officials at the Administration for Children\u2019s Services said the agency would notify families who have been waiting the longest first, then work through the remaining list.<\/p>\n The agency said about 20% of the children on the waitlist are currently enrolled in a free, city-funded program, but it\u2019s unclear whether those families have enough of the care they need because most preschool programs end in the summer and only run six hours a day.<\/p>\n