Gillibrand Announces Bipartisan Legislation To Address Shortage Of Affordable Child Care

Jan 23, 2025

As of 2018, 64% Of New Yorkers Lived In A Child Care Desert

Legislation Would Provide $100 Million In Federal Funding To Develop The Child Care Workforce, Build New Child Care Facilities

Today U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a virtual press conference to discuss her bipartisan legislation to address the nationwide shortage of affordable child care. Nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers live in communities that lack adequate access to child care, a share higher than in all but 4 states. Gillibrand's bill would provide $100 million in federal funding over 5 years for states to build or expand child care facilities and to help train a robust child care workforce.

"Access to quality, affordable child care is a necessity for working parents, but a dire shortage of facilities and workers has made it inaccessible for millions of New Yorkers," said Senator Gillibrand. "I'm proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to help recruit, train, and retain child care workers and to build or expand child care facilities in communities that need them. I am committed to working across the aisle to get this done."

The Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act would address the shortage of affordable child care and qualified child care professionals by providing competitive workforce development grants and facilities grants to states. Flexible workforce development grants can be used for a wide range of job training activities, such as offering scholarships or tuition subsidies; paying for the purchase of textbooks, equipment or other required educational materials; or covering other education and referral costs necessary to increase labor participation in the state's child care sector. Facilities grants would fund the construction, expansion, or renovation of child care facilities.

Prioritized projects would be ones that expand access to child care in child care deserts - areas where the number of children under the age of five is more than three times the number of slots with local child care providers who are licensed by the state. Under this definition, 64 percent of New Yorkers live in a child care desert, including 73 percent of those in rural areas. Herkimer, Lewis, Wyoming, Oswego, and Jefferson counties face especially extreme shortages.

The legislation is led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and cosponsored by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

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