Dear Empire State Campaign for Child Care members,

It’s been a busy few weeks here on the campaign, and we’re gearing up for a big year in 2025!

Advocacy Day

As the 2025 session approaches, we invite you to join us in Albany on January 28th to make it clear that child care must be a top priority in the 2025 state budget. We are ready to go to Albany and demand a child care system that meets the needs of families and early childhood educators. Please register today!

It’s vital that we have a big presence at the Capitol to show the Legislature, Governor, and the media that child care is a top priority issue in New York with much more work still to be done. We will hold a rally and participate in meetings with legislators to share our stories and our needs. In the meantime, we urge you to help get out the word in your networks by sharing this email and our registration graphic + flyer which can be found here.

ESCCC looks forward to our Advocacy Day on January 28th in Albany, and we hope you’ll join us for an amazing and empowering day! Register today so you don’t miss it!

Child Care Legislation Update

With the end of the year upon us, we have been urgently advocating for Governor Hochul to sign our bills on presumptive eligibility, ending the minimum earnings requirement, and decoupling work hours from child care assistance before the end of 2024. We have an update on the status of those three bills:

• Presumptive eligibility was signed by the Governor with chapter amendments.
• We are very disappointed that Governor Hochul vetoed ending the minimum earnings requirement and decoupling work hours from child care assistance.
• We call upon the governor to include both of these in her upcoming executive budget.

We’re grateful to the legislators in the “Mom Squad” for their support of the bills and for everyone who joined us for our call-in to the governor’s office day earlier this month.

2025 Policy Priorities

ESCCC recently released our detailed 2025 policy priorities. In 2025, New York should make a firm commitment to provide child care assistance to the working families struggling most to make ends meet. Families with children are already leaving New York in record numbers. A recent report by New York’s Fiscal Policy Institute found that families with young children are 40% more likely to migrate out of New York than families without young children. New York must do better for New York families this year. In New York’s 2025-2026 Budget, we call on New York leaders to make investments in child care. Read our 2025 policy priorities here.  

Connect with Us

The Campaign has been working hard to make sure our members have the resources you need to stay up to date with our work. Check out our new and improved website! You can see all the latest campaign updates, check out our press coverage, and learn about upcoming events. You can also take our Advocate Quiz to learn about how your skills and strengths can help us in the fight towards a more equitable and inclusive child care system!

Stay connected and follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, and BlueSky!

Thank You For A Great 2024!

Last but not least, thank you for all that you do to advocate for child care in New York State. Every letter, phone call, and legislative visit you made in 2024 helped us to move the needle. We are so grateful to have you in our child care community and look forward to working alongside you all in the new year!

Sincerely,

Shoshana Hershkowitz

Campaign Manager for the Empire State Campaign for Child Care