New York State’s Child Care Availability Task Force, which was charged by the governor with supporting the state in developing an implementation framework for a phased-in rollout of universal child care, has released a comprehensive roadmap for a universal child care system. The roadmap, which is intended to be “ambitious but actionable,” focuses on five critical building blocks for universal child care:
- Systems
- Workforce
- Quality
- Access
- Affordability
Throughout the roadmap, the task force outlines strategies and recommendations for short-term (within 1-3 years), mid-term (3-5 years) and long-term (5+ years) actions to support the goal of universal child care.
The Institute’s executive director, Dona Anderson, sits on the task force, which is co-chaired by Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden, the commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services, and Roberta Reardon, the commissioner of the Department of Labor. In an opening letter to Governor Kathy Hochul and state legislators, they write, “The process of fulfilling this goal of the task force was rooted in and driven by the shared belief that New York cannot afford to wait to begin building a universal system. New York must lead the way.”
Key recommendations from the roadmap that intersect with the Institute’s work include:
- Workforce: “Expand scholarships to support child care providers in obtaining degrees, certifications, and higher credentials.”
The Institute’s Career Development Center promotes efficient and effective pathways to early childhood certification credentials, provides individualized academic and career advising, and distributes higher education scholarships. - Quality: “Evaluate adaptations to the QUALITYstarsNY rating system, incorporating feedback from parents and providers on what constitutes a quality child care program and taking into account economic, geographic, cultural, and family structure differences.”
The Institute manages New York State’s Quality Rating and Improvement System for early childhood programs, QUALITYstarsNY, which continually evaluates and revises its standards based on best practices in early care and learning. - Quality: “Encourage educators in all licensed programs and settings to enroll in a statewide workforce registry…Expand Aspire Registry to school-aged and other staff; make enrolling in Aspire more user-friendly; ensure workforce registry data is linked with OCFS provider systems, working with providers and stakeholders to ensure changes meet their needs.”
The Institute manages New York State’s early childhood workforce registry, the Aspire Registry. Expanding the registry would support the state’s efforts to capture verified, comprehensive data about the early care and learning workforce.
The task force’s roadmap supports our vision for an accessible, affordable child care system that fairly compensates educators and provides high-quality learning experiences for young children.
