Governor Cuomo gave his State of the State address yesterday and also released his budget for 2017.  I am pleased to report that there is an increase for QUALITYstarsNY, New York’s quality rating and improvement system, which will bring its allocation to $5 million.  Some of the new funds will be used to pilot a Start with Stars initiative, which will help programs address licensing violations that currently prevent them from joining QUALITYstarsNY. 

Additional good news for early childhood from the state budget includes an allocation of $22 million to expand free Pre-K for three-year-old children in high need communities throughout the state.

Congratulations to the QUALITYstarsNY team for all the wonderful work they do day after day! For more information, please visit https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-outlines-2016-agenda-signature-proposals-ensuring-new-york-and-will-continue-be.

Warmly,

Sherry M. Cleary

Executive Director