Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani Announce Major Milestone Toward Launching Free Child Care for All Two-Year-Olds in NYC

Governor Kathy Hochul today joined Mayor Mamdani to announce the first major milestone in their plan to deliver free child care for two-year-olds in New York City. They also announced the selection of the first four communities to receive 2,000 2-K seats this fall. This is a direct result of the Governor's $1.2 billion commitment to support early child care and early education efforts in New York City, which includes a significant allocation of $73 million to establish the first 2,000 2-K seats in the city, on top of funding from the State to strengthen the City's existing 3K infrastructure to achieve its promise to serve all families across the city. With continued State support, the State's investment in 2K is expected to grow to $425 million by next year.

"As New York's first mom Governor, achieving affordable, universal child care has been a key priority for my administration and we are doing the work to see it through," Governor Hochul said. "That's why we didn't hesitate to partner with New York City to lay the groundwork and fund not one, but two years to realize the full implementation of free child care for all two-year-olds across the city."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, "Raising a child takes a village - and it takes a city government willing to step up and tackle the child care crisis head-on. On day eight, we moved closer to making universal childcare a reality. This fall, 2,000 New York City two-year-olds will have a brighter future because of it. Launching 2-K in these four neighborhoods is just the beginning of our work to put money back in New Yorkers' pockets, strengthen our entire economy and help more families build their lives here."

The four communities that will receive 2,000 New York City 2-K seats are:

• Washington Heights and Inwood
• Fordham and Kingsbridge
• East Brooklyn: Canarsie, Brownsville, and Ocean Hill
• Ozone Park and Rockaways

To complement the rollout of 2-K in New York City, the State will continue to expand access to high-quality child care programs statewide through various models in 2025, saving families in New York billions of dollars annually. Governor Hochul has already taken major steps including investing over $8 billion in child care infrastructure, dramatically expanding access and laying the groundwork for universal child care across the state. Governor Hochul's State of the State investments will deliver affordable child care for nearly 100,000 more kids. The total FY27 investment for child care and prekindergarten services across the state will be $4.5 billion.

"As New York's first mom Governor, achieving affordable, universal child care has been a key priority for my administration and we are doing the work to see it through."

Today's announcement builds on the Governor's unprecedented investment to deliver affordable, universal child care for children under five years of age across New York State, which also includes:

Achieving Truly Universal Pre-K
While four-year-olds in some parts of New York have long had access to Pre-K, there are dozens of school districts that have not yet been able to make it available. Governor Hochul is providing additional support to ensure truly universal Pre-K for all four-year-olds in the State by the start of the 2028-2029 school year.

The State will not only fund additional seats to achieve universality but will also increase funding for existing seats, bringing them up to the greater of $10,000 or the applicable school district's current selected foundation aid per pupil, so that districts have what they need to provide high-quality Pre-K. This combination reflects a commitment of roughly a half-billion dollars and will ensure that every child in New York State enters kindergarten ready to learn.

Continuing Access to Low-Cost, Affordable Child Care Assistance Programs
Under Governor Hochul's leadership, New York has more than doubled investment in the state's Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which provides subsidies to help low-income families access child care. By dramatically increasing the State's investments in the program while expanding eligibility, the program now supports 2.5 times more children - an additional 100,000 - than when Governor Hochul took office; the number of children served has increased by almost 25 percent in the past year alone. Most of the families of the 170,000 children served by the program pay no more than $15 per week for child care.

This year, Governor Hochul will continue to grow the State's investment in child care subsidies for those that need it most with a $1.2 billion increased investment, bringing the total available for subsidies to over $3 billion. This is more than 3.5 times more than the $832 million provided prior to the Governor taking office, and a nearly 40 percent increase from what was made available in the FY 2026 Enacted Budget.

Launch of New Innovative Pilot Programs with Counties Statewide
In 2026, Governor Hochul launched a new State pilot program partnering with Dutchess County, Monroe County and Broome County to help counties offer additional child care options in their communities. This pilot program includes a total of $60 million in State funding in addition to new investments from each of the three counties. These investments will help these counties to expand child care access, particularly focusing on serving 0-3-year-old children through year-round, full-day care for thousands of families across these communities, regardless of income.

Office of Child Care and Early Education
A new Office of Child Care and Early Education will drive the implementation of high-quality, universal child care in New York State. The Office will oversee and support roll out of universal Pre-K, continued investment in 3K, launch of 2-Care and other innovative care options, expansion and improvement of vouchers, and ongoing support for the workforce.

Supporting the Workforce Through Early Childhood Educator Preparation
Governor Hochul's plan to strengthen New York's early childhood education workforce includes expanding existing workforce scholarships, seeking opportunities for new Workforce Pell grants, and directing SUNY and CUNY to take a number of steps to expand and streamline early childhood education programs.

Governor Hochul's administration has been laser-focused on achieving affordable child care for all families in New York. Specifically, the State has already accomplished:

• More than doubling the number of children served by child care vouchers in just four years, with an almost 25 percent increase in the past 12 months alone.
• Providing more than $8.6 billion for child care, including more than doubling funding for subsidies.
• Dramatically expanding the number of families who are eligible by increasing the maximum income from 200 percent of Federal poverty level (roughly $64,000 for a family of four) to the maximum allowed under Federal law - 85 percent of Statewide median income (roughly $114,000 for a family of four).
• Reducing the amount those receiving subsidy pay by capping costs at $15 per week for most families.
• Increasing reimbursement rates for providers by nearly 50 percent, helping providers retain staff and provide quality care for children across the state.
• Supporting the future creation of thousands of child care seats and new centers through more than $150 million in capital funding.

Contact the Governor's Press Office