Assemblywoman
Addie J. Russell (D-Theresa) announced the legislation she authored to cap out
of pocket childcare expenses passed the Assembly today. The bill, which was
passed along with several other pieces of legislation aimed at making childcare
more affordable, limits a family’s co-payment to 20% of their income above the
poverty line and will be accompanied by state appropriations to offset any
increase in costs faced by county social service agencies (A.8928).
“The high cost of child care places
an enormous financial burden on parents that are already struggling to make
ends meet,” Assemblywoman Russell said.
“In order for these families to survive, the parents must work, making
child care an absolute necessity. Enhancing the state’s child care subsidy
program will help working families by putting affordable, quality child care
within their reach and help local childcare providers grow their businesses.”
Assemblywoman Russell is a member of
the Assembly Childcare Workgroup that developed the package of legislation. The
workgroup formed in May of last year to study child care issues in New York
State and better understand the challenges faced by working parents. The
workgroup sought feedback from representatives of the child care industry
including providers, parents, advocates and evidence-based researchers to
explore potential measures for increasing availability and access to child
care.
As part of the package, the Assembly
also passed several measures aimed at supporting child care providers:
· A. 8924 creates
a task force to review burdensome regulations placed on child care providers that
are duplicative or unnecessary and create administrative burdens for child care
providers.
· A. 8926 requires
social service districts to reimburse providers for at least 6 absences per
child in 3 months, reducing uncertainty for childcare providers and stabilizing
their reimbursements; accompanied by state appropriation;
· A. 8927 harmonizes
subsidy requirements and state regulations by defining an infant as a child
under two years old. The current inconsistency results in a 6 month gap in
reimbursements to childcare providers; accompanied by state appropriation;
“A crucial aspect of ensuring families
have access to quality affordable childcare is supporting our local childcare
providers and finding ways to simplify unnecessary and burdensome regulations,”
Assemblywoman Russell said. “It’s not enough to simply ask more of our local
providers, we have to provide meaningful regulatory relief so they can effectively
run their businesses.”
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