Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Introduction and overview of child care voucher funding shortfall
0:18:51
·
147 sec
Council Member Brannan introduces the topic of child care voucher funding shortfall and questions Commissioner Dannhauser about the impact of the state budget on the city's child care voucher program. The commissioner explains the changes in state funding and the city's plan to continue recertifying most existing voucher recipients.
- State budget required a 500% increase in the city's maintenance of effort, from $53 million to $328 million
- A matching program of up to $350 million was introduced by the state
- ACS presented a plan to the state to continue certifying families who meet federal priority criteria
Justin L. Brannan
0:18:51
Thank you commissioner.
0:18:52
We've also been joined by council members Ressler, Williams, Hudson, Brooks Powers, Brewer, Salaam, and Menon.
0:19:01
I wanna jump right in and talk about child care voucher funding shortfall.
0:19:07
As a prelim at the preliminary budget hearing, ACS indicated that you were projecting a shortfall in state and federal funding allocated to the city by the state to support the city's child care voucher program through the upcoming federal fiscal year, which ends 09/30/2026.
0:19:25
Since the since the state enacted its budget after the release of the city's executive plan, there was no increase in state funding to address the gap.
0:19:33
So could you talk a bit about there are still federal and state funds in the program through the current federal fiscal year, ends on September thirtieth of this year, will these existing funds be able to fully recover, to fully cover vouchers through the end of the federal fiscal year?
Jess Dannhauser
0:19:51
Through the end of this federal fiscal year, yes.
0:19:54
Maybe I'll step back and sort of describe what the state budget did.
0:19:57
So the state budget required a 500% increase in the city's maintenance of effort, so from about $53,000,000 to $328,000,000 It also introduced a matching program of up to $350,000,000 if the city before we get any dollar we have to spend that $328,000,000 The matching kicks in after the original MOE of 53,000,000.
0:20:28
And so we are looking right now, we do not yet from the state have the federal fiscal year '26 allotment that we'll get.
0:20:38
We know that it's flat funding of 1,800,000,000.0 statewide.
0:20:43
Last year we had 1,100,000,000.0 plus an additional about 200,000,000 in rollover.
0:20:48
So where this leaves us is we have presented a plan to the state which they approved last night to continue to certify families who currently have children enrolled in child care with low income vouchers if they meet one of three federal criteria, priority criteria.
0:21:11
And you have to go to the priority criteria when you have limited funds.
0:21:16
And we have limited funds because we've had to start a waitlist.