Several new bills, introduced by City Councilmember Julie Menin on June 2nd, aim to boost child care in the city — including improving the way families receive information about what’s available to them. Learn more about what each bill would enact.
Int 0477-2022 A Local Law in relation to establishing a childcare task force General Welfare
- This bill would establish a childcare task force to examine how to make childcare more affordable and accessible for families in the City, and how the City could provide additional support and funding to childcare providers and workers.
- The task force would be required to submit a report that includes recommendations for establishing childcare for all children in the City ages five and under.
- This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to coordinate with the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to create a website that provides a list of every childcare provider that operates in the City.
- The website would include, for each childcare provider, the provider’s name, address, telephone number, program type, status of any permit or license required to operate the program, and whether the program is regulated by New York State or New York City.
- The website would also be required to include a search function, where users could search by key words for a childcare provider by name and location.
- This bill would establish a Child Care Advisory Board, which would be responsible for submitting an annual report that includes an assessment of the needs of childcare providers and recipients across the City.
- The Board would be required to make recommendations on how to improve childcare and make it more affordable, including reviewing and assessing universal childcare and subsidies to families whose income equals up to 300% and 400% of the federal poverty guidelines
- This bill would require the Administration for Children’s Services to coordinate with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to create an online portal that provides information on childcare subsidies.
- The portal would include information on each subsidy provided by local, state and federal agencies, the eligibility for each subsidy, and instructions on how to apply for each subsidy.
- The portal would also include the forms needed to apply for each subsidy, including any electronic forms available which may be submitted online through the portal.
- This bill would require the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) to establish a childcare program fund to award grants to childcare programs in the City.
- To be eligible for a grant, a childcare program would have to be experiencing a significant risk of closure or displacement, in addition to meeting other requirements as determined by ACS. ACS would be permitted to award grants of $1,000 per full-time employee of a childcare program, up to a maximum of 20 employees.
- This bill would also require ACS to submit an annual report to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council on grants awarded to childcare programs in the preceding fiscal year and would require ACS to publish on its website information on childcare grants, including eligibility, instructions for the application process, and required documentation.
- This bill would require the Mayor to designate an administering agency to create a childcare certification program by which building owners that provide space in buildings for child care programs may apply to be recognized as a childcare certified building.
- A certification would be issued upon submission of an application and documentation that a childcare program operates in the building and meeting other requirements as determined by the administering agency.
- The certification would be valid for three years and may be renewed.
- This bill would also require the administering agency to maintain a database on its website containing a list of the buildings that are certified pursuant to the program.