Establishes the regulated child care workforce as a priority population for child care assistance program funds; requires a public education and outreach campaign.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9302
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
December 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TAPIA -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to enacting the
"child care for caregivers act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "child care for caregivers act".
3 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 410-x of the social
4 services law, as amended by section 3 of part U of chapter 56 of the
5 laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
6 (a) (i) The office of children and family services may establish
7 priorities for the families which will be eligible to receive funding;
8 provided that the priorities provide that eligible families will receive
9 equitable access to child care assistance funds to the extent that these
10 funds are available. The office of children and family services shall
11 ensure that families in receipt of child care assistance as of September
12 thirtieth, two thousand twenty-three who were identified as a priority
13 population under a local social services district's consolidated
14 services plan shall continue to be eligible for such assistance,
15 provided they meet all other applicable eligibility requirements for
16 such assistance.
17 (ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
18 office of children and family services shall, consistent with federal
19 law and regulation, designate families in which a parent or caretaker
20 relative is a member of the regulated child care workforce as a top
21 priority population for the receipt of child care assistance under this
22 subdivision.
23 (iii) For purposes of this subdivision, "regulated child care work-
24 force" shall mean individuals employed by licensed or registered child
25 day care centers, programs operating as group family day care homes or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13976-01-5
A. 9302 2
1 family day care homes, enrolled legally exempt providers, or school-age
2 child care programs regulated by the office of children and family
3 services, including but not limited to teachers, teaching assistants,
4 and teacher aides.
5 (iv) The office of children and family services shall ensure that
6 funding is set aside or otherwise reserved for regulated child care
7 workforce populations sufficient to provide child care assistance to
8 eligible families, to the extent of appropriations made available there-
9 for.
10 (v) The office of children and family services shall conduct, or cause
11 to be conducted, a statewide public education and outreach campaign to
12 inform members of the regulated child care workforce of their eligibil-
13 ity and priority status for child care assistance under subparagraph
14 (ii) of this paragraph. Such campaign shall include, but not be limited
15 to, publication of information on the office of children and family
16 services website, coordination with local social services districts, and
17 collaboration with child care resource and referral agencies and employ-
18 er networks.
19 § 3. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 2 of section 410-x of the social
20 services law, as added by chapter 416 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
21 read as follows:
22 (e) The commissioner of the office of children and family services
23 shall submit a report to the governor, temporary president of the senate
24 and the speaker of the assembly on or before August thirty-first, two
25 thousand one concerning the implementation of this section. This report
26 shall include information concerning the disbursement of child care
27 assistance funds showing geographic distribution of children receiving
28 assistance within the state. The commissioner of the office of children
29 and family services shall submit an additional report concerning the
30 implementation of this section no later than August thirty-first, two
31 thousand twenty-seven, which shall include, but not be limited to,
32 information concerning the disbursement of child care assistance funds
33 to the regulated child care workforce.
34 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
35 have become a law.
