U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) held a virtual press conference to demand that the Trump administration unfreeze the grants that provide child care assistance to tens of thousands of families in New York.
“Investing in child care is investing in our future. The Trump administration’s decision to freeze child care grants is a brazen political attack that will hurt New York families, children, and child care providers who are already struggling to get by,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Because of this action, child care providers will almost certainly be forced to close their doors, families will be stripped of the assistance they rely on, and children will suffer. I will continue to work with our state and local partners to hold the administration’s feet to the fire until they reverse this immoral, heartless decision.”
On Tuesday, the Trump administration froze $10 billion in funding for child care subsidies, social services, and cash support for low-income families in five Democrat-controlled states–including New York. The administration is claiming widespread fraud throughout these states, but it has not provided any evidence of this in New York.
The funding cuts come from three funding streams: the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance to households with children; the Child Care and Development Fund, which supports child care for working parents; and social services grants that benefit at-risk children. In total, New York receives over 3 billion dollars between these funding streams, helping provide care to hundreds of thousands of New York children.
Senator Gillibrand discussed the importance of child care assistance for working parents, especially at a time when child care costs are rising faster than inflation in most states. According to the Department of Labor’s National Database of Childcare Prices, American families spent between 8.9 and 16 percent of their median income on full-day care for one child in 2022. In New York, the average cost of child care is between $15,500 and $20,500 per year, depending on the age of the child and type of child care center.
Additionally, child care has been shown to improve outcomes for children, workers, and the economy. It gives children vital early learning and socialization, increases labor force participation, and reduces worker absenteeism.
Gillibrand demanded an immediate reversal of the administration’s funding freeze.
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