REMARKS
Early childhood education funding and reforms
0:15:50
·
150 sec
Speaker Adams details the council's efforts to secure funding and implement reforms for early childhood education programs in New York City.
- $293 million was added for early childhood education between the executive budget and now
- The council developed a comprehensive plan to fund more seats and ensure all waiting families can get a spot
- Reforms include revived outreach efforts, converting seats to full-day and full-year programs, and establishing a working group to address system challenges
Adrienne E. Adams
0:15:50
Early childhood education has been a priority for this council.
0:15:53
We know how critical it is to children's development and to New Yorkers abilities to raise their families here.
0:16:00
$293, 000, 000 added for early childhood education between the executive budget and now, including a comprehensive plan that the council prioritized to fund more seats to ensure all families waiting for a seat can get 1.
0:16:20
In this budget, we took on a unique role as a legislature to more actively get involved in fixing the administration of our early childhood education system because its continuing operational problems are undermining its ability to reliably serve our children and families.
0:16:38
We recognize this was both a fight for funding and want to save and strengthen these critical programs from challenges that cannot.
0:16:46
Be allowed to persist.
0:16:48
Right now, we have fewer applications than budgeted seats.
0:16:53
We also have vacant seats despite many families being unable to obtain 1.
0:16:59
This is a problem that we must address because this system is too important to fail our families.
0:17:06
Our comprehensive approach includes funding for more seats to meet the immediate needs of the families who didn't get a seat after applying for the coming year.
0:17:15
It also adds preschool special education seats to ensure that hundreds of children with disabilities who remained on waiting lists can finally access their legally required seats.
0:17:29
We also put forward strong reforms, including funding for a revived outreach effort to ensure families know about their options.
0:17:38
Converting even more seats to full day, full year to meet the needs of working families and establishing a working group with the council Mayor's office, DOE, and OMB that will meet every other week to confront the system's challenges on a granular level.
0:17:58
For us, this agreement is the foundation for stabilizing and strengthening the city, the system so we can achieve a real universal system of 3 k based on utilization.
0:18:10
We have the capacity to secure a seat for every child.
0:18:14
We must get this right to help families remain in this city and help them succeed.