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In this newsletter:

• THANK YOU: Advocacy Day 2026
• TAKE ACTION: Presidents' Week Action Toolkit
• BPRHA Caucus Weekend Highlight
• ICYMI: Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani's Child Care Announcement
• RESOURCE: Schuyler Center's Executive Budget Analysis
• Legislative Priorities for 2026
• CALL TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS: FPWA Worker Experience Interview Applications Open
• ESCCC in the News

Dear Empire State Campaign for Child Care members,

What an incredible start to 2026!

Campaign members have been extremely busy these past few weeks organizing in Albany, serving as child care experts alongside policymakers, being featured in media publications around the state, and spreading the word about the campaign's latest proposal, New York State Child Care For All: The Plan to Achieve It. Together, through the dedication of advocates like you, we have a built a movement that cannot be ignored. The time to invest in child care is NOW!

There are lots of opportunities to continue this momentum and join the ever-growing advocacy opportunities across New York State. Read below for more details!

THANK YOU: Advocacy Day 2026

Despite the severe snowstorm that impacted most of the state, over 400 advocates joined us in Albany last month for our annual ESCCC Advocacy Day - a record-breaking day for the campaign!

The Well was overflowing with parents, children, educators, advocates, legislators, union staff, and agency representatives sharing one common goal: to make universal child care a reality in New York State. We are equally grateful for those of you who used our digital toolkit, met virtually with legislators, and mobilized from afar. This work cannot be achieved without all of us.

From Brooklyn to Buffalo, from North Country to Long Island, from Albany to Chautauqua county, we made our voice clear that significant, sustained, and permanent investments must be made in the child care sector - not just this year, but every year.

You can view photos from the event, along with a fantastic video produced by The Action Lab, below.

Thank you to CBS6 Albany and Spectrum News for their coverage of our event. You can read articles about Advocacy Day, along with other important child care publications, by visiting our media library.

Presidents' Week Action Toolkit

Our advocacy efforts are not slowing down and we invite you to take action! Legislators will be in their home offices this week, February 17th - 20th. This is a great opportunity to connect with your legislators and share with them how vital it is that child care be prioritized in the upcoming budget.

We have created this digital toolkit which includes links to:

• Posts and graphics you can share with your social media networks
• A child care sign-on letter that can be send to Governor Hochul and your specific legislators (from our partners at AQE)
• A call script you can use when reaching out to legislative offices. Helpful tip: if you are nervous about speaking to someone on the phone, you can always call after hours and leave a voicemail. Be sure to mention you are a constituent!
• A digital folder of materials that can be shared directly with legislators.
• A Letter to the Editor (LTE) template you can use when submitting writing to your local newspaper.

New York State BPRHA Caucus Weekend

Several members of the campaign were invited to speak at the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislators' 55th Annual Legislative Conference this past weekend, where they led discussion on the future of child care in New York, outlined the sector's most urgent challenges, and identified critical investments needed to stabilize and strengthen the workforce.

The focus was on the campaign's latest report, "New York State Child Care for All: The Plan to Achieve It", which outlines actionable and achievable steps policymakers can take to put the state on the path to an equitable and accessible child care system that works for ALL families, including:

• Providing ongoing and reliable compensation supplements to all members of the child care workforce.
• Adequately resourcing New York’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) to ensure no eligible families are turned away or placed on waitlists.
• Implementing two models of universal child care bridge projects in several communities around the state, to be expanded to more communities until free, universal child care is achieved statewide.

We are immensely grateful to all members of the NYSABPRHAL - with a special thanks to Speaker Carl Heastie, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Senator Jabari Brisport, and Assemblymember Gabriella Romero - for convening this important conversation and for creating space to elevate the voices of families and early childhood educators.

Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani's Child Care Announcement

Last month, Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani made a historic commitment to funding child care across the state - including funding expansions to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), launching universal community pilot programs in three NYS counties, and expanding universal pre-K access to all 4-year-olds by the 2028-29 school year.

Notably missing from the proposal was any funding for the child care workforce compensation. We must reiterate that permanent compensation for the child care workforce is essential to meet the demand of this expanded access and early child care providers deserve thriving wages. A well-compensated workforce is non-negotiable to the success of universal child care, and we look forward to working with both city and state government to create a child care system that works for all New Yorkers.

Schuyler Center's Executive Budget Analysis

Each year the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, one of the founding organizations of the Empire State Campaign for Child Care, analyzes the governor's Executive Budget proposal and assesses how it does (or doesn't) advance priorities that improve the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers.

You can read Schuyler Center's First Look analysis of early childhood education and afterschool on pages 5 - 8. Please note that this assessment also covers additional topics that affect children and families, including child welfare, child poverty reduction, and public health.

ESCCC's 2026 Top Policy Priorities

The campaign recently released its 2026 Top Policy Priorities. We are fervently committed to advocating for a high quality, culturally inclusive, and robustly funded child care system that meets the needs of all families - regardless of income, immigration status, or work schedule.

In New York’s 2026-2027 budget, we are calling on New York leaders to make significant, sustained, and strategic investments in child care.

FPWA Worker Experience Interview Applications Open

The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) is seeking applicants for their Worker Experience project, which focuses on the experiences of employees in specific low-wage sectors - including child care.

The goal of the project is to better understand the impacts of occupational segregation as well as inform advocacy for higher-quality jobs and better working conditions for everyone.

The interviews will be 1 hour, conducted over the phone, and selected participants will receive a $50 gift card for their time. 

If you have any questions, please contact Funmi Akinnawonu at fakinnawonu@fpwa.org or (212) 801-1374.

ESCCC In the News

Members of the campaign have been speaking to reporters across the state about the opportunity we have in New York State to achieve our vision of universal child care. Check out some recent publications below:

• What Hochul and Mamdani's childcare vision would look like in Northern NY – North Country Public Radio (1/12/26)
• Parents are cutting back on child care as costs stretch budgets – Washington Post (1/14/26)
• Freeport child care provider warns federal rule rollback threatens stability – Long Island Herald (1/16/26)
• Build Universal Child Care as Mamdani Vowed To Do – Daily News (1/17/26)
• Advocates: Pay boost needed for child care workers to make New York’s universal plan work – Spectrum News (1/27/26)
• Advocates in Albany push for universal child care – CBS6 Albany (1/27/26)
• Key state lawmakers push for more workforce funding in child care plan – Spectrum News (1/28/26)
• Universal Child Care Is on Course. But Is Fair Pay for Child Care Workers? – The New School Center for NYC Affairs (1/28/26)

The progress we have made would not have been possible without all of you.

Thank you for being part of this movement and for your continued commitment to building a stronger child care system for all New York families.

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