Early Childhood
Simone Hawkins, the Education Department's deputy chancellor for early childhood, will leave in September as the city prepares to launch Mayor Zohran Mamdani's new free childcare program for 2-year-olds.
The Child Care Assistance Program exploded in popularity during the pandemic, and thousands of families are still hoping to access it.
Applications close June 26, and parents will get offers by Aug. 2. Most 2-K seats will be free 8 a.m.-6 p.m., year-round.
Nearly 100,000 New York City families received preschool offers this year, roughly the same as last year despite a major enrollment campaign from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Concerned by a history of backlogs, the city council is looking to cut red tape for the health department, which will have to do background checks on new providers.
NYC launches online child care provider application portal, aiming to streamline ‘outdated’ process and fast-track center openings.
The Mayor’s Office of Child Care announced the NYC Child Care Hub, the first city-run directory and map lookup of all child care programs in the city.
The $2.51 billion spending plan includes increases for early childhood initiatives and a new public health lab - but less funding to fight communicable diseases, sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the NYC neighborhoods getting free child care for 2-year-olds in the fall. The city is expecting to launch 2,000 seats in these high-needs areas.
Four years after the city announced the 65th Street child care center in the Upper East Side’s 10065 ZIP code, Mamdani said Thursday it will open 132 seats for pre-K and 3-K in the fall.
FirstStepNYC was built as a demonstration program to work with families from pregnancy until kindergarten. Its founder thinks the city should look to it as a model once again.
Pre-K teachers at community-based programs earn less than their public school counterparts. Before NYC expands child care, these educators want Mamdani to fix their wage gap.
New York City received 50,000 applications for its free preschool programs in just two weeks as Mayor Mamdani focuses on outreach. Families have until Feb. 27 to apply.
Liss helped build the city’s Universal Pre-K program. She talked to Chalkbeat about the lessons of that rollout and her plans to make child care available to all.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state is taking an “unprecedented step” to commit to two years of child care funding despite looming federal budget threats.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani says he wants to reform mayoral control rather than end it.
Families have until Jan. 23, 2026 to apply and will receive an offer on March 21, 2026.
The city’s teachers union is opening up its child care navigator tool to city residents after its members found it helpful. It has about 12,000 listings.
A funding shortfall in the state budget forced New York City to freeze enrollment for a popular child care voucher program for low-income families.
New York City needs between $823 and $907 million in additional state funding in order to avoid kicking families out of the voucher program, according to one analysis.