Requires the office of children and family services implement a regional cost factor analysis for child care subsidies; requires social services districts implement such findings.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2373
SPONSOR: Gandolfo TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring the
office of children and family services implement a regional cost factor
analysis for child care subsidies
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill requires the office of children and family services to imple-
ment a regional cost factor to take into account the different cost of
living standards across different regions and areas of the state.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one requires the office of children and family services to
implement a regional cost factor. The regional cost factor shall be
created using information and data regarding the market survey rate
county clusters, market rate costs, providers in the local social
service district, the local minimum wage rate, local average median
income, and local poverty rate.
Section two establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York state is facing a major child care shortage and the state must
take action to address this shortage. By creating a regional cost
factor, areas of the state that have higher costs of living and higher
costs of child care would receive more for child care subsidies than
under the base rates set in the most recent child care market rate
survey. This in turn would help the local population of each region to
better afford child care.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.9220 of 2023/24-referred to children and families
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Increased child care subsidies from the state to be provided to local
social service districts that meet the need of the regional cost factor.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2373
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 16, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GANDOLFO, DURSO, GALLAHAN, JENSEN, HAWLEY,
SLATER, K. BROWN, DeSTEFANO, TAGUE, RA, DiPIETRO, BROOK-KRASNY, BRABE-
NEC, SMITH, MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Chil-
dren and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring the
office of children and family services implement a regional cost
factor analysis for child care subsidies
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 410-x of the social services law,
2 is amended by adding a new paragraph (b) to read as follows:
3 (b) (i) The office of children and family services shall complete an
4 analysis to determine regional cost factors for child care services
5 provided by licensed, registered and enrolled child care providers. Such
6 regional cost factors shall take into account the differences in child
7 care costs and costs of living in a regional and local social services
8 district. The office shall create the regional cost factors to be
9 applied using the regions as defined by section two hundred thirty of
10 the economic development law. The regional cost factors shall, include
11 but not be limited to, the following:
12 (1) the county cluster that a local social services district is a part
13 of as defined by the most recent market rate survey;
14 (2) the market rate costs as defined by the most recent market rate
15 survey for each local social services district;
16 (3) the number of providers per local social services district;
17 (4) the average median income of each local social services district;
18 (5) the minimum wage rate of each county within a local social
19 services district; and
20 (6) the poverty rate of each local social services district.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04599-01-5
A. 2373 2
1 (ii) Local social services districts shall be required to implement
2 such regional cost factors for child care services to incentivize such
3 operation of child care providers or child care centers.
4 (iii) The office shall complete such analysis of the regional cost
5 factors and produce what cost factors for each region would be for the
6 following year, not later than one year after the effective date of this
7 paragraph.
8 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
