STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6424
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. ASHBY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
ty and Military Affairs
AN ACT to amend the military law, in relation to establishing a weekend
child day care assistance program for New York army and air national
guard members
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The military law is amended by adding a new section 257 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 257. Weekend child day care assistance program. 1. For the purposes
4 of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "New York national guard" means both the New York army national
6 guard established under section forty-one of this chapter, and the New
7 York air national guard established under section forty-two of this
8 chapter.
9 (b) "The program" means the weekend child day care assistance program
10 established pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
11 (c) "Dual-military family" means a two-parent family where both such
12 parents are enlisted as members of the New York national guard, or any
13 other federal military branch.
14 (d) "Child day care" shall have the same meaning as defined by section
15 three hundred ninety of the social services law.
16 (e) "Child care provider" means an entity operating as a child day
17 care center or family day care home under section three hundred ninety
18 of the social services law.
19 2. The division of military and naval affairs, in conjunction with the
20 office of children and family services, shall develop and implement a
21 "weekend child day care assistance program" to benefit members of the
22 New York national guard, including development of an initial registra-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10851-02-5
S. 6424 2
1 tion process, and a monthly reservation process for New York national
2 guard members to reserve child day care with a child care provider.
3 3. The program shall provide free hourly child day care, at a child
4 care provider that has opted to participate in the program, for New York
5 national guard members during scheduled weekend drill periods, for up to
6 twelve hours. Such child day care shall be reimbursable as provided in
7 this section. New York national guard members seeking to enroll in the
8 program shall make an initial application to the program, and once
9 assisted, shall reserve child day care under the program monthly at a
10 child care provider participating in the program.
11 4. All child day care costs shall be processed directly to the child
12 care provider and processed in accordance with the program policies,
13 dependent on submission of completed attendance sheets. No payments
14 shall be guaranteed until a final approval certificate has been sent to
15 both the New York national guard member enrolled in the program and
16 child care provider. It shall be the responsibility of both the New York
17 national guard member enrolled in the program and child care provider to
18 review all approvals for accuracy, and to report any inaccuracies as
19 soon as possible.
20 5. New York national guard members enrolled in the program shall:
21 (a) Be in good standing with their unit, which shall include, at a
22 minimum, having attended all required drills, completed assigned tasks,
23 and maintained compliance with uniform requirements;
24 (b) Prove that no other adult in such New York national guard member's
25 household is able to care for such member's child or children during the
26 scheduled drill weekend; and
27 (c) Either: (i) Be a single parent, or be part of a dual-military
28 family where such New York national guard member's spouse is participat-
29 ing in a drill during the same weekend, is deployed, or is attending
30 service-related classes or training on a drill weekend; or
31 (ii) Have enrolled their child or children in the Defense Enrollment
32 Eligibility Reporting System as dependents of such New York national
33 guard member, if such child or children are between the ages of six
34 weeks to twelve years old.
35 6. Child care providers participating in the program shall:
36 (a) Maintain compliance with section three hundred ninety of the
37 social services law;
38 (b) Submit to an advanced Federal Bureau of Investigation federal
39 fingerprint background check and federal Child Abuse Registry check
40 conducted and adjudicated by the department of social services for any
41 child day care employees, and for family day care homes, as such term is
42 defined by section three hundred ninety of the social services law, all
43 household members aged eighteen years and older;
44 (c) Maintain a child day care liability insurance policy coverage of
45 at least five hundred thousand dollars; and
46 (d) Maintain a certification in first aid and infant/child cardiopul-
47 monary resuscitation (CPR).
48 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
49 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
50 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
51 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
52 on or before such effective date.
