State Lawmakers Push for $900 Million to Save Child Care Voucher Program

Roughly 60,000 children will lose vouchers over the next year without more funding.

Julia Rock   ·   March 27, 2025
The governor’s proposed budget in January did not include increased funding for the child care voucher program | Wikimedia Commons and New York Focus

Tens of thousands of New York City families will soon lose financial assistance to pay for child care unless the state substantially increases funding for the program. Vouchers cover almost the entire cost of child care for low- and middle-income families around the state, and the program has expanded in recent years to help more people as the cost of child care has skyrocketed.

On Wednesday, 49 state legislators representing districts in New York City sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders asking them to help close a $900 million funding gap for the program within the more than $250 billion state budget currently being negotiated.

“The elimination of these vouchers will lead to a significant spike in the child poverty rate in NYC, which at 26% of children is already higher than any time since 2017,” the letter reads. It called the vouchers “a lifeline for low-income families in NYC as the affordability crisis has deepened and cost of living continues to rise.”

“Approximately 60,000 children will lose their childcare vouchers over the next fiscal year absent a significant infusion of new funding,” lawmakers wrote. “We hope the City and State can work together to fill this $900 [million] gap” so that the program can maintain current enrollment levels, the letter continues.

New York Focus first reported on the program’s funding shortfall in February, when the city agency that distributes the vouchers warned advocates that it would soon have to remove thousands of parents from the program each month and turn down new applicants even if they are income-eligible.

The governor’s January budget proposal did not include increased funding for the program. The Assembly budget, released earlier this month, proposed an additional $213 million, which is still not nearly enough to close the gap.

The funding shortfall is “a good problem,” said Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi, chair of his chamber’s Committee on Children and Families, because it’s partially the result of more families getting access to the vouchers. It’s also the result of rising child care costs and a projected increase in demand: The city’s plans to reimpose work requirements on low-income families receiving cash assistance means that they will need child care — and help paying for it.

“We just have to step up to the plate and manage our finances in a way that we can keep up with that growth,” said Hevesi. “We have to make sure that families who have a voucher don’t fall off.”

New York City public officials have also been asking the state for more funds, although Mayor Eric Adams has been notably quiet on the issue. Earlier this week, 47 of the 49 current members of the New York City Council wrote a letter to state officials asking them to close the funding gap. The letter was also signed by Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, as well as the borough presidents of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

The problem isn’t just in New York City. Multiple upstate counties, including Washington and Essex, have stopped accepting new applicants for the vouchers and set up waitlists in recent weeks due to a lack of funding.

State budget talks are currently at a “standstill,” according to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, but will resume next Tuesday.

“There’s so much drama going around with federal cuts, but this is something that is not federal, it’s a state issue,” said Assemblymember Emily Gallagher from Brooklyn. “It was such a wonderful gift when we expanded this program during the pandemic, and I’m really looking forward to keeping that functionality going forward.”

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Julia Rock is a reporter for New York Focus. She was previously an investigative reporter at The Lever.
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