Requires each social services district to maintain a waiting list of eligible families who have applied for child care assistance; requires the local districts to report such list to the office of children and family services who shall then compile such reports and issue one report to the legislature annually; requires the social services districts to collect data regarding the income of families who have applied, were denied and received child care assistance and issue a report to the office of children and family services who shall then compile such reports and issue one report to the legislature annually.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1926
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. PERSAUD, KAVANAGH, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring social
services districts to maintain a waiting list of certain families
applying for child care assistance
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 410-z of the social services law, as added by
2 section 52 of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 § 410-z. Reporting requirements. 1. Each social services district
5 shall collect and submit to the [department] office of children and
6 family services, in such form and at such times as specified by the
7 [department] office of children and family services, such data and
8 information regarding child care assistance provided under the block
9 grant as the [department] office of children and family services may
10 need to comply with federal reporting requirements.
11 2. (a) Each social services district shall maintain a waiting list of
12 eligible families who have applied for child care assistance pursuant to
13 this title and who have not received such assistance. Such waiting list
14 shall contain information including, but not limited to:
15 (i) the date the child care assistance was requested;
16 (ii) the date the child care assistance was received;
17 (iii) the age of the child or children the assistance was requested on
18 behalf of; and
19 (iv) the total number of families on such waiting list as of the first
20 day of each month.
21 (b) Each district shall issue a report to the office of children and
22 family services by October fifteenth, two thousand twenty-seven, and
23 annually thereafter detailing month-to-month information required pursu-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05769-01-5
S. 1926 2
1 ant to this subdivision for the preceding period of October first
2 through September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
3 (i) the average length of time for families on the waiting list;
4 (ii) the number of families on the waiting list for each of the
5 following time periods:
6 (A) less than two weeks,
7 (B) two weeks to less than a month,
8 (C) one month to less than three months,
9 (D) three months to less than six months,
10 (E) six months to less than a year, and
11 (F) one year or more;
12 (iii) the average age of children represented on the waiting list;
13 (iv) the number of children represented on the waiting list eligible
14 for each:
15 (A) infant,
16 (B) toddler,
17 (C) pre-school, and
18 (D) school-aged subsidized child care slots; and
19 (v) the number of existing infant, toddler, pre-school and school-aged
20 subsidized child care slots;
21 (vi) the number of families who would receive child care assistance
22 except that they are waiting for available slots in a particular child
23 care program; and
24 (vii) other information as the district deems appropriate.
25 3. (a) Each social services district shall collect data regarding the
26 income of families who applied for child care assistance pursuant to
27 this title, specifying:
28 (i) the number of families who were denied;
29 (ii) the number of families who received such assistance; and
30 (iii) a listing of the incomes pursuant to paragraph (b) of this
31 subdivision of the families who applied for such assistance.
32 (b) Each district shall issue a report to the office of children and
33 family services by October fifteenth, two thousand twenty-seven, and
34 annually thereafter, detailing month-to-month information collected
35 pursuant to this subdivision for the preceding period of October first
36 through September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
37 (i) the number of all families who applied for and received child care
38 assistance pursuant to this title whose:
39 (A) incomes were under fifty percent of the state median income level
40 for their family size,
41 (B) incomes were between fifty percent and seventy-five percent of the
42 state median income level for their family size, and
43 (C) incomes were between seventy-five and eighty-five percent of the
44 state median income level for their family size; and
45 (ii) the number of all families who applied for and were denied child
46 care assistance pursuant to this title whose:
47 (A) incomes were under fifty percent of the state median income level
48 for their family size,
49 (B) incomes were between fifty percent and seventy-five percent of the
50 state median income level for their family size, and
51 (C) incomes were between seventy-five percent and eighty-five percent
52 of the state median income level for their family size.
53 4. The office of children and family services shall compile such
54 reports pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two, and paragraph (b)
55 of subdivision three of this section, into one comprehensive report
56 containing all required information on a county by county basis. Such
S. 1926 3
1 report shall be provided to the governor, the speaker of the assembly,
2 the temporary president of the senate, the chairperson of the assembly
3 committee on children and families, the chairperson of the senate
4 committee on children and families, the chairperson of the assembly
5 committee on social services, the chairperson of the senate committee on
6 social services, the chairperson of the assembly ways and means commit-
7 tee and the chairperson of the senate finance committee no later than
8 December first, two thousand twenty-seven, and annually thereafter.
9 5. Reports issued and compiled under this section shall not use the
10 name, address, or any other identifying information of an individual who
11 is the subject of the report and shall ensure the anonymity of those
12 included in the reports.
13 § 2. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require local social
14 services districts to maintain waiting lists for dates preceding the
15 effective date of this act, or to collect data pursuant to subdivision 3
16 of section 410-z of the social services law, as added by section one of
17 this act, for persons who applied for subsidized child care prior to the
18 effective date of this act.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2026. Effective immediate-
20 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
21 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
22 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
