Hochul & Mamdani Unveil Plan for Universal Childcare

Mallory O’Neill '29

On January 8th, Governor Kathy Hochul announced her plans for universal childcare, planning to work alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani to reach this goal. They plan on expanding statewide universal pre-K, as well as enacting free childcare for two-year-olds across New York City.

Hochul proposed raising childcare funding by $1.7 billion for the upcoming year, with about $1.2 billion going towards creating low-cost childcare for low-income families. Hochul first wants to focus on establishing universal pre-K, which is estimated to cost about $500 million over the next three years. Only the first year would be included in the $1.7 billion. She also plans to fund additional pre-K seats across the state and provide more money for existing seats, with the goal of every four-year-old in the state to have a seat by the 2028-2029 school year. “I have a little bit different approach for upstate because they’re not as far ahead [as New York City] when it comes to four-year-old and two-year-old programs.” Hochul said.

In New York City specifically, Hochul and Mamdani plan to fix holes in the preexisting 3-K program, which provides education for three-year-olds in the city, as well as launch a program to provide free childcare for two-year-olds, called 2Care. The state will provide $73 million for the first year, which would begin with 2,000 seats for “high-need” areas for the fall. Mamdani said that he and his administration will have “sustained conversations” with parents and childcare providers to identify these areas.

In the second year, $425 million would be provided for the city to add 10,000 more seats to the 2Care program. This would continue on until it is fully able to serve the estimated 55,000 2-year-olds expected. The state is expected to continue funding for years 3 and 4, but there were no given cost estimates.“The beautiful thing about this is that every parent knows that we are going to be able to deliver this for every single child across New York City,” said Mamdani. “2Care will be a reality by the end of this first term.”

Childcare advocates and Democratic lawmakers have praised these announcements. “We won’t let up until child care is free for all across the state and child care workers are paid fairly as educators,” state Senator Jabari Brisport stated.

However, many Republicans are worried about the costs, and have offered criticism towards the governor's plans. “I have always supported New York’s families, and I understand the financial strain child care places on working parents. But behind every major decision coming out of Albany, whether you agree with it or not, comes a price tag that will have to be sorted out in the state budget,” said assembly member Ed Ra.

While speaking to reporters, Hochul said that, “We're announcing our budget on the 20th of January, so you'll be able to see the sources of our revenues. I will say this, that we have managed our finances quite well.” Their plans for free childcare in NYC is in the works of being executed, where many are hopeful that the program will be successful.