Affordable child care for NYC
Shatara, a TWU Local 100 member, says the Facilitated Enrollment Scholarship Program “offers me just what I need to survive and have my daughter continue excelling.”
Child care in New York is extremely costly, often exceeding $25,000 per year for an infant at a licensed daycare. The Consortium for Worker Education is responding to this crisis and helping working families access the affordable, quality child care they need to succeed in New York.
CWE and allies launched the Facilitated Enrollment Scholarship Program nearly two years ago as part of a statewide initiative aimed at extending transformative child care benefits to families who are not eligible for other forms of child care assistance. The scholarship expands eligibility to parents with incomes that are too high for other programs as well as undocumented children whose immigration status prevents them from qualifying for state-subsidized child care. It also covers episodic workers, like actors or freelancers, whose inconsistent income makes them ineligible for other child care funding.
“Since its inception in 2023, The Facilitated Enrollment Scholarship Program has made a significant impact in the lives of the parents served and the participating child care providers,” says CWE President Marco A. Carrión. “CWE hopes to continue the expansion of this valuable resource for other New York City families.”
The Facilitated Enrollment Scholarship Program was developed by the New York Union Child Care Coalition (NYUCCC), is funded by the New York State Legislature, and is managed by CWE.
Families enrolled in the scholarship program save about $18,000 per year per child, helping ease the financial strain of living in one of the priciest cities in the world.
“Without this scholarship, my daughter and I would either have to enter the NYC shelter system or move to North Carolina to stay with family and rebuild our lives after 17 years in NYC,” says Ambien, a District Council 37 member at the New York City Department of Education. “There would be no other option, as I make too much to qualify for free child care through other programs, yet not enough to afford private child care.”
“This program has been a blessing to my life. I cried when I received my acceptance to the program because I endured so many no’s and struggled to provide for my little one,” says Shatara, a TWU Local 100 member and New York City transit worker. “This unique program offers me just what I need to survive and have my daughter continue excelling in her early childhood study. She is able to receive good quality service and education, which will help her develop into a lifelong scholar.”
For more than two decades, the Consortium for Worker Education has been working on various pilot projects to ease the burden that working families bear due to the increasingly staggering costs of child care. This expertise was used to craft a straightforward application and enrollment process that is easy for both parents and their licensed child care providers.
Ambien is one of many New York City workers who have affordable child care thanks to the Facilitated Enrollment Scholarship Program.
The program also supports the city’s struggling child care providers by paying up to 100 percent of the New York market rate. One of those providers is Aaron Ye, the manager of the daycare Star A Kidz.
“One of the greatest advantages of the scholarship program is the ability to receive payments based on our daycare’s regular tuition rates, rather than the ACS Market Rates, which often don’t cover the true cost of offering high-quality child care,” says Ye. “This fair compensation helps us continue delivering excellent care, maintaining our facilities, and providing fair wages to our educators. Without this program, many child care centers struggle to cover basic operating expenses, which can lead to a decline in service quality.”
“The scholarship program is not just financial aid—it serves as a gateway to opportunity, enabling families to access dependable and caring child care, helping providers uphold high standards, and ensuring children receive the education they need to succeed,” Ye continues. “We’ve seen firsthand the positive impact of this program, and we are truly thankful for the stability and support it offers. By investing in early childhood education through programs like the scholarship program, we are not only creating brighter futures for children but also fortifying the entire community.”
Ms. Victoria Adames, the manager of Hugs Kollege, says, “For providers, the consistent and predictable monthly payments from the scholarship program offer significant financial stability. These regular payments help reduce stress and uncertainty around cash flow, which ultimately supports the ongoing care and services provided to families.”
The scholarship program not only provides financial stability – it also fosters a strong relationship with the providers, making the process run more smoothly. Providers’ questions are answered and resolved quickly.
The scholarship was created and funded by the state legislature thanks to the leadership of State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi. It builds on the ongoing impact of the Child Care Facilitated Enrollment Project, which was established in 2002 and continues to this day. The scholarship program has been funded in the state budget each of the last two years and CWE is looking forward to renewed funding this year to keep serving New York City’s working families.
“The Facilitated Enrollment Program was established over twenty years ago to improve and increase working families' access to subsidized child care through a user-friendly and efficient application process, avoiding extensive waiting periods for essential services,” says Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi. “It is critical that we continue to fund and expand this program.”
The Facilitated Enrollment Scholarship Program was recently covered in the Power at Work Blogcast and in the Reinventing Solidarity podcast from the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.
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