Following a set of insurance policies proposed in a 277-page book accompanying her sweeping State of the State deal with, Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday highlighted a number of adjustments she’s searching for to make New York’s child care system more accessible and environment friendly.
Whereas selling the proposals at the Bronx Kids’s Museum in the South Bronx on Wednesday morning, Hochul mentioned that whereas her administration final yr invested $7 billion in the state’s child care system over the next four years, solely a small share of individuals are using the companies provided. Lower than 10% of eligible households have utilized child care help since the allocation was made, Hochul mentioned.
“Here’s the crazy thing: the money’s there, the programs are there, but families aren’t accessing it,” Hochul mentioned. “You have to ask why. Part of it is a legacy of a system that was set up to be difficult to navigate. And I don’t know if that’s by design. But that’s just not okay with me.”
“We said ‘why can’t we make this easier,’” she continued. “So, we’re going to streamline and centralize the child care application process. It sounds simple, but no one’s done it before.”
Hochul mentioned that breaks down into permitting households to pre-screen for eligibility on-line; elevating the revenue restrict for eligibility; making those that are already receiving different state advantages mechanically qualify; and capping household co-pays.
Underneath Hochul’s proposal, households in every of the state’s 62 counties would give you the chance to get pre-certified and apply for child care advantages on-line. Making this modification would centralize the utility course of, Hochul mentioned, placing all of the types households should full in a single place, which ought to permit the state to course of considerably more purposes every year.
This could “remove all of the unnecessary reporting,” Hochul mentioned. “I mean, you’re not trying to start a bank or something just trying to apply for childcare.”
Moreover, the governor mentioned she’s searching for to elevate the revenue restrict for child care help eligibility to the most allowed below federal regulation. Which means the cap could be raised from $83,000 to $93,000-a-year for a household of 4 — which is 85% of New York’s median revenue. It will make roughly 113,000 more households with youngsters certified for child care advantages, she mentioned.
The proposed change comes after Hochul’s administration beforehand introduced the restrict up from $67,000-a-year in 2022.
When it comes to those that are already receiving advantages, resembling Supplemental Vitamin Help Program (SNAP) or Medicaid, Hochul mentioned she desires to make them mechanically certified for child care assist.
“So qualifying for one of those says to me, you probably qualify for this when the threshold is $93,000,” the governor mentioned. “They’ve already given the information. The families already, we already know who they are. And they shouldn’t have to go through the application process multiple times. So we’ll make a change.”
That ought to ease the manner, Hochul mentioned, to add roughly one other 83,400 eligible households to the rolls.
On prime of all that, Hochul can also be wanting to cap co-pays at one % of a household’s revenue above the federal poverty stage.
So as to enact these adjustments to New York’s child care system, Hochul could have to work with the state Senate and Meeting to cross laws, one thing she mentioned she’s “confident, they’re all on the same page” about.
State Senator Luis Sepúlveda (D-Bronx), who was in attendance Wednesday, can be one of the lawmakers pushing for that laws. He mentioned the adjustments Hochul put forth will make a giant distinction in the lives of his South Bronx constituents.
“I probably represent now the poorest senatorial district in New York State,” Sepúlveda mentioned. “It’s no secret that our children have the lowest graduation rates in the entire state of New York. It’s no secret that my colleagues in government are working to improve that. But Governor, what you have done is accelerated that process.”