Campaign for Children Statement on the City Adopted Budget for FY 2022
New York: July 1, 2021- The Campaign for Children, a coalition of more than 150 organizations working towards high-quality early childhood education and after-school programs for every child in New York City released the following statement on the NYC FY 2022 Budget.
Campaign for Children applauds Mayor de Blasio and the City Council, including Speaker Corey Johnson, Education Chair Mark Treyger, Finance Chair Danny Dromm and Youth Services Chair Debi Rose, for the inclusion of $24 million to increase rates in Summer Rising programs. We also thank the administration and City Council for their historic investment in community schools.
Community-based organizations went above and beyond during COVID-19 to keep services going for New York City’s young people and their families, and were asked to do so again during Summer Rising. This funding will ensure greater financial stability so that CBOs can focus on providing enriching programming. We look forward to working with DYCD to ensure that this crucial funding gets out to providers rapidly.
We are disappointed that the budget agreement does not take action to address the child care emergency facing many New York City families. Without access to child care, New York City’s economy cannot reopen. Yet our child care system has been rocked by the pandemic and this budget does not go far enough to address the severe lack of full-day/year round and infant/toddler care available for working families.
With increased Federal funding expected to come to New York City, Campaign for Children urges New York City to take the following actions:
- Invest in Extended Day/ Extended Year child and infant/ toddler care. While the budget significantly expands school year and school day programs for 3 year-olds, there remain large gaps in services for the youngest children. Safe and constructive programming must be offered year-round and cover the entire workday to support child development and learning as well as revive the participation of parents and caregivers in the workforce and economy. The City should immediately make a baselined investment to expand extended day, year-round services and care for infants and toddlers.
- Support the Early Childhood Workforce. The City should take action post-budget to address lingering inequities in salaries for the early childhood workforce including for child care directors in community based organizations whose salaries are significantly lower than comparable roles in public schools, as well as for preschool special education teachers who were left out of the initial parity agreement.
- Ensure Continuity of Payment for Child Care Providers. New contracts for center-based child care, Head Start, and Pre-K programs are set to start on July 1st. Yet many contracts have not been finalized or registered and providers risk missing payroll if there is a lag in payment, threatening workforce stability and potentially disrupting services. Contracts must be registered timely and bridge loans secured when they are delayed.
This is a critical time in our city’s recovery. Residents cannot work full time if they do not have child care, early education and youth service options available to them that provide for their children full time, year-round. Providers cannot create safe and constructive spaces for robust programming without the appropriate staff and resources. In short, a city cannot recover in full if it is only providing resources for partial system or service needs. We urge you to take action in the coming days and weeks, and we stand ready to work with you to strengthen the City’s early care and education and youth service systems to promote an ongoing and lasting recovery for all New Yorkers.
Download full statement here.
