New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited SUNY Broome Community College in Binghamton on Wednesday to highlight a statewide pilot program to expand child care.
Broome County will receive $20 million in state funding for a new child care facility under construction at the Oakdale Commons mall in Johnson City. The center will have space for 200 children. Half of those slots will be for children three years old and under, including infants.
“Those infants, little toddlers and the one and two-year-olds are the ones that are hard to place,” Hochul said. “So we want to have a pilot for a community-wide network of daycares that will provide daycare, not just during the school year, but year round.”
Hochul said across New York, many families cannot afford to work and pay for child care.
“Here in Broome County, the median income is about $61,000 a year, one of the lower incomes across our state,” Hochul said. “And the cost of child care is upwards of $14,000. So, if you have to take care of a child, or even two children, at that cost, look at what you're subtracting out of your income right off the bat.”
Hochul announced the push for universal child care—specifically for children under four—in her State of the State address last month.
Broome, Monroe, and Dutchess counties each received $20 million to expand existing child care facilities or build new capacity. Hochul said the state will evaluate the impacts of this round of funding before it determines how to expand services for other counties.
