B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Launches Digital Portal to Help New York State Deliver Free or Low-Cost Child Care to More Families Statewide

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul today, alongside U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at the Club Fed Child Care Center in Albany, launched ny.gov/childcare – a digital portal to help make free or low-cost child care more accessible to eligible families statewide through New York State’s Child Care Assistance Program. This new initiative follows on the historic $1.8 billion state and federal investment in the Child Care Assistance Program secured by Governor Hochul in the FY25 Enacted Budget.

B-ROLL of the event is available on YouTube and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

I'm delighted to be here at the Child Care Center, the Club Fed Child Care Center and I want to thank everyone who's participating here today.

I want to tell you a story about a New Yorker, Ayesha, who's here with us today and you'll hear from her in a couple minutes. She gave birth to her youngest daughter, Ameena, in 2019, just a few months before the COVID-19 shutdown. She works as a program coordinator at BOCES. Her husband works for Albany County. And in their search for childcare, they were coming up short – there just weren't enough affordable options nearby. Ayesha had to use all her personal time and medical leave just to stay home and take care of her baby. Providing financially for her family became a struggle, but everything changed when Ayesha enrolled in the State's Child Care Assistance Program. She could finally go back to work, knowing that Ameena was getting great care from the devoted staff here at Victory, and without worrying how to pay for it all. We want to make stories like Ayesha’s possible for more New York families and today, we're here to tell you how.

I want to thank the individuals who joined me here today. Someone who's been a champion on child care accessibility, affordability for longer than almost anyone in the entire state, and that is our great Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. And she and I, when I was Lieutenant Governor, would travel around the state together and talk about what she was doing at the federal level, what I could do at the state level to help lift up families and get them through these challenging times. So an incredible champion and a dear friend of mine. I'm so delighted we could be with her today.

I also want to thank Victory Riedy, the founder and director of the Victory Child Care and Club Fed Child Care Center. And of course, Ayesha, who's joined us here today, will talk about her experience. And I'll soon be joined by Jennifer Lorenz, who will be giving us another update on what is happening with our cyber situation.

I've said it before, it's not a news flash, but I am New York State's first mom Governor. And more than 35 years ago, what I experienced when I became a mom are the stories that I'm still hearing today all these years later. I worked on Capitol Hill. I had a wonderful job with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan as an attorney on his staff.

I could not find any child care options for my son. I had to leave, put my career on hold, and take care of my baby full time. And that's a sacrifice women are too often expected to make when they live in what is basically a child care desert. It was difficult then, but today New York is experiencing an affordability and child care crisis.

Everything has gone up. From diapers to groceries to utilities. And the greatest expense of all? You guessed it: It's child care. In our state, child care for an infant costs more than $21,000 a year. That's 155 percent more than in-state tuition at public universities in New York. Toddler care isn't much better at close to $20,000. Imagine having a toddler and an infant as many families do. You add up the costs, it just doesn't work out.

Just like I did 35 years ago, parents today are sitting at the table, trying to figure out, do the math, how they're going to afford their family's basic needs, and let alone save for the future, future education costs for their children. For too many families, it just doesn't add up. And guess what? New York is losing young families as a result. They're moving away, looking for more affordable places where they can find a home. Which is why I focus so intensely on building more housing in our state, but also in search of affordable childcare.

It doesn't just affect families. This crisis affects our entire economy. When childcare is scarce, businesses struggle to recruit and retrain qualified workers. If they're at risk of losing workers or think they won't find them, they'll just go somewhere else. That's a challenge we must overcome.

If New York wants to remain competitive. If we want our businesses and our families to thrive, we have to tackle this challenge head on. And that's why as Governor, I've committed over $7 billion over four years for affordable child care. That's why we expanded the Empire [State] Child Care Tax Credit to include kids under four.

I was stunned to realize that it was only available for families with children aged four and older. And as a new grandmother, I knew the costs of diapers and formula and the clothes they keep outgrowing every few months was so high. Why weren't we helping families when they were getting hit the hardest?

So, I changed that. Now newborns on up can have their families eligible for this child care tax credit. And it's why we sponsored the employer sponsored child care program – splitting the cost of care between employers, employees and the state.

But still, too many families are struggling and not getting the support they need, and that's why we're thinking even bigger. As part of my latest State Budget, I secured an historic $1.8 billion investment in our State Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP. This would not have been possible without the support of the woman standing next to me, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She secured the support, the necessary resources from the federal government, and I want to thank her again for her passion, her tenacity in fighting to bring the dollars back to our state and doing everything she can to help working families.

This program connects New Yorkers with free or low cost child care. What does low cost mean? Let me tell you what low means. This program covers at least 90 percent of child care costs. Let me repeat that. This program covers 90 percent of child care costs for families earning up to 85 percent of the state median income.

What does that mean? For a family of four earning $108,000 or less, that family will pay no more than $15 a week, saving them thousands and thousands of dollars every year. The State Child Care Assistance Program already serves 100,000 families across New York. And it's making a powerful impact on the lives of those kids and parents. But we have more work to do.

There are hundreds of thousands of more families across the state who may be eligible for this program and we need to reach right now. And we need to make finding – for them – finding and using these resources much more simple.

Working parents don't have the time to navigate the bureaucracy, go to in-person appointments, and fill out endless forms. They have families to take care of. And that's why today, I'm proud to launch the state's child care application portal. This new online platform allows families to check their eligibility, apply for assistance, and find child care providers to fit their needs without having to take the time and go through mountains of paperwork as had been the case in the past.

The entire process takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. We had a pilot program: New York City and Schenectady County families could already apply online, and starting today, the rest of New York State can join in as well.

And we want to make sure people know where to go. Here's the access to it. Make sure you check the website over here. If you're a working parent, go to the website ny.gov/childcare.

This is what we're talking about, getting this information out. Starting today, we'll be distributing palm cards throughout the state with all the information they need and making sure that they have access to this important resource. It'll save them so much time.

We're collaborating with pediatricians, obstetricians, social service providers to connect families with these as well. Or scan the QR code on the palm card and be directed right to the portal. It could not be easier.

So, that's what we're doing. Why? If we’re creating these amazing benefits and New Yorkers don't know about them or how to access them, then our job is far from over. We won't rest until every eligible family has the support they need.

We want New York to be a place where parents can pursue their dreams and their children can thrive. And as long as I'm Governor, I won't stop fighting for New York families and especially our adorable children – many of whom I just had a chance to play with down the hall – to give them the very best start in life.

Because when our families succeed, New York succeeds. And no one knows this better than my friend from Washington, local former member of Congress from this region, knows it well, represents the entire state with a special emphasis on lifting up New York families, women and children, ladies and gentlemen, let me give you my friend, Kirsten Gillibrand.