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A coalition of child care advocates, families, and elected officials will march with strollers on City Hall on Sunday to launch their campaign for free child care for all New York City 2-year-olds.
The campaign will kick off just three days after Mayor Eric Adams delivered his annual State of the City speech — which focused heavily on affordability for families but was criticized by advocates over a lack of concrete child care policy proposals. During the last budget cycle, Adams clashed with advocates and City Council members over funding for the city’s early childhood system.
The campaign pushes for the inclusion of “2-Care” in the next city budget and calls for a significant expansion of the child care system that currently offers free preschool programs for the city’s 3- and 4-year-olds. Advocates estimate it would serve about 60,000 children and require about $1.3 billion to operate at full-scale.
“Families cannot afford to wait until their kids are three to access free child care: the steep cost of child care is pushing parents to their breaking point, and out of New York all together,” said Rebecca Bailin, executive director of New Yorkers United for Child Care, in a statement. “Universal 2-Care is an important step towards reversing these devastating trends and bringing universal, public child care to all of New York State.”
Organized by New Yorkers United for Child Care (a grassroots parent group) and United Neighborhood Houses (a policy organization representing many child care providers), the 2-Care campaign has gained support from a range of grassroots advocacy groups, child care providers, and local and state officials, according to a Friday press release.
Among those supporting the campaign: city Comptroller Brad Lander and state Sen. Jessica Ramos — two officials who plan to run against Adams in the mayoral race this year.
Chyann Tull, a spokesperson for the city’s Education Department, said proposals like 2-Care “highlight the urgent need to invest in our youngest learners, supporting their development and easing financial burdens on families.”
“New York City Public Schools understands the profound impact that accessible, high-quality child care has on our families and communities,” she said in a statement. “We must support the sustainability of the current system while we remain committed to working alongside our partners in government to create a seamless, equitable system that sets every child on a path to success from their earliest years.”
Child care advocates argue that child care for 2-year-olds is critically important, noting 80% of brain growth occurs before the age of 3. Meanwhile, child care costs can be a significant financial burden for families, forcing parents to choose between leaving their jobs or paying thousands of dollars for private child care services. Full-time child care for a 2-year-old in New York City can cost families roughly $23,400 annually, according to advocates.
A universal 2-Care program, advocates say, would offer free child care services to every 2-year-old in the city — operating from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at locations close to home.
Building up the city’s free prekindergarten system was a signature initiative of former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who leaned heavily on federal COVID relief dollars to expand preschool for 3-year-olds with a goal of making the program universal.
But that effort stalled under Adams, whose administration contended that thousands of seats were sitting empty due to mismatches of supply and demand in some neighborhoods. But advocates argue that Adams had not invested enough in promoting preschool options to families.
During his State of the City address, Adams said the city had extended a 3-K offer to every family that applied on time last year, enrolling 150,000 children across the early childhood system.
A lack of access to affordable child care can have a significant impact on parents’ ability to work, according to prior reports from city government. In 2021, more than half a million people did not seek employment due to child care needs, with about 375,000 parents choosing to leave or considering leaving their jobs due to the combined impact of the pandemic and a lack of affordable child care.
Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org.
