EXCERPTS from the Executive summary
In New York City today, most parents with young children are engaged in paid work. Both parents are in the labor force in more than half of families with children under six, with even higher rates of labor force participation among single-parent households. Every day, these New Yorkers entrust other people to care for their children, make sure they are healthy and safe, and build a strong foundation for future learning. For thousands of families in New York City, child care is a basic need, but for many, and for families with low or moderate incomes in particular, the high cost of care creates a serious financial burden and leaves few preferred child care options, if any, without risking access to other essentials like housing, health care, food, and transportation.
New York City has invested in universal pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds and taken steps to direct similar investments to three-year-olds, but solutions for addressing the affordability and availability of infant and toddler care remain urgently needed, as they are across the country. This report, by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, analyzes the current landscape for infant and toddler child care in New York City and makes a series of recommendations aimed at making quality child care more affordable and accessible for families with children under three.