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Q&A
Discussion on 2Care proposal for free childcare for two-year-olds
2:23:00
ยท
141 sec
Council Member Shahana Hanif inquires about the DOE's thoughts on the 2Care proposal, which aims to provide free publicly funded childcare for two-year-olds. The chancellor expresses support for the idea but indicates that discussions are still in early stages.
- The proposal could potentially benefit about 60,000 two-year-olds
- Chancellor Aviles-Ramos acknowledges the importance of supporting families with childcare needs
- Internal conversations about the proposal are ongoing, but no concrete updates are available
- The council member expresses continued commitment to fight for universal 2Care
Shahana Hanif
2:23:00
Sure.
2:23:00
And I want to make sure that our public school infrastructure is as best as it could be.
2:23:06
Last month, I had the honor of being with some parents as part of New Yorkers United for Child Care.
2:23:15
We were petitioning for 2Care in Park Slope in my district.
2:23:20
And the conversations I was having were at JJ Byrne Playground, it's one of the popular playgrounds in my district, asking about two care, three care.
2:23:33
And the responses were outlandish to know that parents have to make drastic measures either leaving the workforce or entirely leaving the city.
2:23:50
And I don't have a kid yet because I'm not trying to leave the city and I'm not trying to stop working.
2:23:57
So what are your thoughts on the 2Care proposal for free publicly funded free childcare for two year olds?
2:24:06
And this is about 60 thousand two year olds that United Neighborhood Houses and New Yorkers United for Child Care have put forth.
Melissa Aviles-Ramos
2:24:21
So council member, we obviously would love to make sure that every single family has everything they need and that they don't have to negotiate between work and responsibilities and their child.
2:24:34
Obviously that's something very personal to me.
2:24:37
I was very lucky and I had a support structure in my mom and my sister, but I recognize that that privilege doesn't exist for everyone.
2:24:44
So of course these are things that we would love to see happen.
2:24:49
Right now what we're trying to do is make sure that we're listening to everyone's ideas and opinions and figuring out what the implications are for our own planning and implementation.
Shahana Hanif
2:25:01
So about 2Care, what are your thoughts?
Melissa Aviles-Ramos
2:25:06
We would love to see it happen.
Shahana Hanif
2:25:09
And what's the possibility?
2:25:12
There conversations that
Melissa Aviles-Ramos
2:25:13
are Conversations are happening internally, but at this point, we are not able to give you an update because, again, they're just internal conversations.