Gov. Kathy Hochul is hitting the brakes on a plan to limit childcare vouchers for New York City parents who work part time.
The state had been pushing the city to follow a rule that reimburses childcare only for the hours a parent is on the job. Now, Hochul has issued a two-year reprieve, giving the city until 2028 to comply.
The decision comes weeks after Gothamist reported that city officials and childcare providers were scrambling to comply with the rule and feared major disruptions to the program that more than 100,000 families rely on for low-cost care.
"This waiver will help ensure that families who are currently receiving support in New York City don’t have their coverage reduced and providers don't suffer costly disruptions,” Hochul said in a statement.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was grateful for Hochul’s partnership in preserving the voucher program for working families.
“For a parent picking up an extra shift to make ends meet, or a parent whose work schedule changes week to week, access to flexible childcare is truly essential,” he said in a statement.
Families on the Child Care Assistance Program pay no more than $15 a week for either day care or after-school. But while the rest of the state limits voucher use for families working part-time, New York City does not.
When the state began cracking down on the requirement last year, childcare advocates warned parents who didn’t work 9-to-5 jobs could lose coverage hours. Providers said they wouldn’t be able to create a full roster of part-time kids whose parents work irregular hours — and warned that some would be forced to close.
“Childcare providers continue to have a viable economic model to pay their staff and keep the lights on. Parents have reliable full-time care that they can depend on, and kids benefit from access to great childcare five days a week,” said Councilmember Lincoln Restler of Brooklyn, who had called on Hochul to intervene.
“This is just a win for everyone,” he said.
Hochul has made childcare a centerpiece of her affordability agenda, doubling the number of families enrolled in the voucher program and committing $1.2 billion to launch free care for 2-year-olds, expand 3-K and pre-K seats and boost money for vouchers.
Childcare advocates say the waiver allows Hochul and Mamdani to build on their momentum toward creating a universal childcare system that helps more families, rather than taking care hours away. The popular voucher program has a growing waitlist of about 26,000 families.
“To tie childcare assistance and access to childcare to the exact hours that a parent works, that can vary day to day, that really runs contrary to what we know,” said Dede Hill, vice president of policy at the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, who lauded the waiver as an important step for early childhood development.
“Children thrive when they have consistent schedules, when they can bond with a caregiver, and get into routines.”
Hill said she was hopeful the rest of the state could get the same relief soon.
A bill in the Legislature would eliminate the state requirement tying vouchers to a parent’s working hours statewide, though Hochul has twice vetoed similar measures over cost concerns.
