{"id":36586,"date":"2025-04-17T15:24:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T15:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/?p=36586"},"modified":"2025-04-17T15:24:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T15:24:04","slug":"mayor-adams-makes-historic-167-million-long-term-commitment-to-fund-critical-early-childhood-education-programming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/archives\/36586","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Adams makes historic $167 million long-term commitment to fund critical early childhood education programming"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK:\u00a0New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced new investments in his upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2026 executive budget totaling $167 million to support young children and their families and strengthen funding to preserve and protect critical early childhood education programing benefiting the most vulnerable children across the five boroughs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

These investments include committing \u2014 for the first time \u2014 to annual funding for a citywide 3-K expansion and for pre-K students with disabilities to ensure continuity.<\/p>\n

Additionally, New York City Public Schools will be conducting a strategic realignment of the federally funded Head Start program to expand Early Head Start for younger children.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo truly make New York City the best place to raise a family, we know we must invest in our children\u2019s future, and today, we\u2019re making bold investments in early childhood education \u2014 to ensure our youngest students have the tools they need to succeed, and so parents don\u2019t have to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for their children,\u201d said\u00a0Mayor Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time ever, we\u2019re baselining nearly $170 million annually to support critical programs like pre-K special education and expand citywide 3-K, and ensuring this funding becomes a permanent part of our city\u2019s budget so that the programs can and will be maintained for years to come. We\u2019re also working strategically to promote equity and high-impact outcomes for our youngest learners by planning ahead to buffer anticipated changes in federal Head Start funding, and we\u2019ll be working closely with families to make sure they\u2019re informed about Head Start and all the early childhood education options available to them. Our administration understands what families need, as well as the courage and conviction to do what\u2019s right to continue delivering for working-class New Yorkers, every day, everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a working mom, I know firsthand how hard it can be to balance a career and raising a family in New York City. That\u2019s why investing in early childhood education isn\u2019t just policy \u2014 it\u2019s personal,\u201d said\u00a0Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time, our administration is committing nearly $170 million every year to essential programs like pre-K special education and expanding 3-K access across the city. These bold investments ensure our kids have the foundation they need to succeed. Our Head Start program is vital, particularly for our most vulnerable New Yorkers, and I understand firsthand the importance of finding programs that meet our families\u2019 needs in their own neighborhoods. We are thrilled to announce that our administration is committing to securing funding for these programs, ensuring that every family can feel confident knowing their child has access to a quality program in their community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the FY 2025 budget cycle, Mayor Adams protected more than $600 million in key, long-term education programs,\u00a0that had been previously funded with expiring stimulus dollars by making investments in Summer Rising, a citywide 3-K expansion, special education pre-K, community schools, social workers, and arts education.<\/p>\n

This investment included one-time funding of $92 million to support a citywide 3-K expansion.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Adams administration invested $20 million to ensure that every student on a 3-K waitlist was offered a seat, and $55 million to provide more than 700 new seats for three- and four-year-olds with special needs. In his upcoming FY 2026 Executive Budget, Mayor Adams will baseline funding for these crucial programs for the first time ever in city history to support children and families and keep the promise that every child who wants an early childhood seat will have access to one, now and in the future.<\/p>\n

Mayor Adams is also committed to ensuring that all children receive high-quality educational services, with a focus on providing the highest level of support to the city\u2019s most vulnerable children and families.<\/p>\n

Head Start is a critical lifeline for thousands of New York\u2019s children under the age of five. To extend federal funding for the program, and in response to historic utilization rates, New York City Public Schools reapplied for Head Start this year with the Administration for Children & Families \u2014 located within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services \u2014 to prioritize an expansion of Early Head Start, which serves infants and toddlers under the age of three.<\/p>\n

As Mayor Adams has repeatedly said, every child who needs an Early Childhood Education seat should be offered a seat, and the transition to a new mix of seats for older and younger children will be carefully managed to minimize disruptions, with clear guidance and alternative placements for affected families.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, New York City Public Schools will help families explore the available Early Head Start, Head Start, 3-K, and pre-K options, and is engaging with providers, elected officials, and families to ensure transparency and support throughout the process. The fiscal implications to the city will be determined after the federal government responds to the grant application.<\/p>\n

A thriving early childhood education system is crucial to making New York City more affordable, particularly for women and families.<\/p>\n

The Adams administration\u2019s child care blueprint\u00a0found that almost 375,000 parents left or downshifted their jobs because of COVID-19 and a lack of access to quality child care. For mothers, the decision to leave the workforce to care for a child can\u00a0cost up to $145,000 in foregone earnings across their lifetime. That is why the Adams administration has prioritized developing an early childhood program that works for the long-term and has seen results in terms of access and affordability.<\/p>\n

Last year, Mayor Adams and leadership of the New York City Council announced a historic joint effort to strengthen early childhood education across the five boroughs and address longstanding systemic issues, while boosting enrollment and connecting families with more Pre-K and 3-K seats.<\/p>\n

The strategic plan \u2014 developed by an unprecedented joint Adams administration-City Council working group \u2014 was anchored by $100 million in new city investment allocated in the FY 2025 adopted budget\u00a0to implement an action-oriented roadmap for outreach and seat allocation across the city. With the new $100 million investment, the total investment in the FY 2025 city budget for early childhood education is $3 billion, comprised of $2 billion for early childhood education programming for children aged zero to five and approximately $1 billion for preschool special education.<\/p>\n

Under Mayor Adams\u2019 leadership, the city has also made significant investments and enacted policies to support working-class families and put money back into the pockets of working-class New Yorkers by\u00a0reducing the per child co-payment or out-of-pocket cost\u00a0of subsidized child care for a family earning $55,000 a year from $55 a week in 2022 to just $4.80 a week today \u2014 more than 10 times less.<\/p>\n

The city has also reduced the co-payments all families pay for subsidized care, bringing the average co-payment per child to less than $220 per year, down from $1,500 annually in 2022.
\n\u201cI was proud to launch the most ambitious and expansive Universal Pre-K and 3-K program in our country\u2019s history,\u201d said\u00a0former\u00a0New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith it, we were able to demonstrate the importance of early childhood education. By making\u00a0these investments in early childhood education permanent, Mayor Adams is doubling-down on ensuring our youngest New Yorkers have the resources they need to thrive, and making a commitment to the working families who rely on this program that New York City will always have their back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the product of Head Start, I understand deeply how impactful this program is for our young children and families,\u201d said\u00a0Tiffany Rodriguez, chair, New York City Public Schools Head Start Policy Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cI commend the Adams administration for stepping up to ensure continuity of this vital program and their work to expand access to high-quality early childhood education for New York City families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have a thriving economy that encourages young families to live and work in New York, our city needs accessible, high-quality child care for children under five. Families, employers and all New Yorkers have made this clear, and the administration’s announcement today shows that they are listening,\u201d said\u00a0Grace Rauh, executive director, the 5BORO Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>We applaud the administration for baselining these critical early care and education funds and we will continue to push for even greater access to affordable, high-quality care for New York City families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank Mayor Adams for baselining the funding for 3-K and preschool special education classes that was set to run out in June,\u201d said\u00a0Kim Sweet, executive director, Advocates for Children of New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis funding has provided early childhood programs for thousands of children, including seats for hundreds of children with disabilities who otherwise would have been sitting at home, and we are relieved that these new classes will be sustained next year and beyond. While today\u2019s announcement is an important step forward, there is still much work left to do to address the needs of preschoolers with disabilities who are currently waiting for seats in preschool special education classes and for services like speech therapy and counseling. We look forward to seeing additional investments to ensure all preschoolers receive the special education services they need and have the legal right to receive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChild care is a powerful one-two punch that families facing economic uncertainty and rising poverty need now more than ever,\u201d said\u00a0<\/strong>Dr. Kelly Escobar, managing director of early childhood, Robin Hood.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy strengthening New York City\u2019s early child care system, we give children the early learning experiences they need to grow into healthy, successful adults, and we help their parents earn vital income with peace of mind, knowing their little ones are safe. More seats mean more opportunities for more families \u2013 addressing New York\u2019s affordability crisis and creating a city that works for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud Mayor Adams\u2019 continued funding for and baselining of free 3-K and special education Pre-K classrooms,\u201d\u00a0said Susan Stamler, executive director, United Neighborhood Houses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese programs provide important early childhood education and give working families access to stable quality care for their children. In these turbulent times, parents should have one less thing to worry about.\u00a0 Affordable child care should never be at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEdTrust\u2013New York applauds New York City for committing baseline funding to 3K and preschool special education\u2014essential programs that deliver high-quality learning environments and unlock the full potential of thousands of young children,\u201d said\u00a0Arlen Benjamin-Gomez, executive director, EdTrust\u2014New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis investment does more than support early learning; it empowers working parents to pursue jobs and education that strengthen family income and long-term economic stability. We\u2019re ready to work closely with city leaders to ensure that every seat is filled\u2014and that families in the communities with the greatest need can access and benefit from these vital programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe commend the Adams administration for dedicating $170 million in annual funding to 3K expansion and Preschool Special Education preschool seats,\u201d said\u00a0<\/strong>The Better Childcare NYC Coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we invest in working families and their childcare, we\u2019re investing in brighter futures for our children, stronger communities, and a more resilient city for generations to come.\u201d
\n\u201cAccess to affordable, high-quality early education is crucial to\u00a0supporting the social-emotional development and school readiness of young children while ensuring caregivers can provide for their families by participating in the workforce,\u201d said\u00a0Raysa S. Rodriguez, executive director, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud Mayor Adams and his administration for baselining funding for 3-K and preschool special education, which is key to achieving stability for programs and ensuring families can access the early care services they need.\u00a0 We look forward to partnering with city leaders to build on these investments so that no child in need of early care or special education services is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChild care access and affordability challenges continue to burden families across New York City, hindering parents\u2019 ability to work and support their families. The Early Care and Education Consortium (ECEC) applauds Mayor Adams\u2019 critical commitment to long-term investments in early childhood education in the City\u2019s Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget,\u201d said\u00a0Sage Schaftel, assistant executive director, ECEC.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnsuring baseline investments of $170 million annually to support vital programs including 3-K, Pre-K and special education Pre-K will go a long way towards addressing the growing need facing families across the city. As child care costs continue to rise and staffing shortages continue to plague providers, these permanent investments will ensure these programs are sustained for years to come, and lay the groundwork for future expansions to help achieve our shared goal of ensuring access to high-quality child care for all families, regardless of income.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK:\u00a0New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced new investments in his upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2026 executive budget totaling $167 million to support young children and their families and strengthen funding to preserve and protect critical early childhood education programing benefiting the most vulnerable children across the five boroughs. These investments include committing \u2014 for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":36587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1469,31,1378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york","category-news","category-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36586"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36588,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36586\/revisions\/36588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}