DiNapoli says universal childcare in New York City could cost up to $8B
Last year, about a third of children under five received childcare through the city’s Department of Education, Administration of Children Services and Human Resources Administration, a cost of $3.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, or about $20,000 per child, the comptroller’s office found.
Mamdani is advancing his plan with little spending flexibility as the city faces a $12.6 billion budget gap. The city is relying largely on support from Gov. Kathy Hochul who provided some backing for the program in her proposed state budget this year. Implementing the child care plan efficiently will likely require the city to unify the disjointed childcare landscape to reduce administrative costs and avoid paying for unfilled seats, DiNapoli said.
“Existing programs in New York City are fragmented and data on outcomes and cost can be better utilized so expansion efforts are done in a cost-efficient manner and are directed to those most in need,” DiNapoli said in a statement commending Hochul and Mamdani for pushing to expand the program.
Hochul proposed increasing the state’s childcare budget by $1.7 billion this year, a majority of which will go to the city. The governor and mayor have billed the infusion as a start, improving the city’s existing 3-K program, expanding 3-K statewide, and rolling out a new program for 2 year olds, dubbed “2-Care,” in select high-needs areas of the five boroughs.
But the diffuse nature of the city’s current child care system, administered across multiple agencies and paid for through a mix of funding sources, could be a roadblock to lowering costs.
The program is funded by ACS vouchers and early childhood education programs administered by the Department of Education, which vary in price and scale, according to the comptroller’s office. The governor’s proposed infusion maintains that arrangement, with $475 million going to vouchers, and $75 million to DOE’s early childhood education services, according to the comptroller’s office.
The report recommends the city operate the program under a single entity, which could lead to administrative cost-savings and de-silo information. A current lack of unified reporting on providers like the types of available services, locations, hours and utilization rates make it difficult to track and balance resources, the report states.
The report recommends phasing in the expansion, as the governor and mayor are proposing, which it says will help the city prepare the workforce and physical capacity in child care deserts, while reducing the chances of unfilled seats from unaligned supply and demand. It will also alleviate stress on the city’s Health Department, which is responsible for regulating providers, and DOE, which must implement disability services alongside the program, the report states.
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