New York, NY —

The city's Administration for Children's Services says it's raising the quality of subsidized childcare programs for kids under five. The agency says now families can expect more classroom staff, on-site social workers, eight-hour days all year long, and frequent progress reports. The programs serve mostly low income families. The new programs will be modeled after Head Start, the well-regarded program that is currently reserved for only the neediest families.

Deputy Commissioner Melanie Hartzog says the city will market its newly named "Early Learn NYC" to a broader group of people. Hartzog says the city hopes to attract more middle class families who pay for childcare out of pocket.

"We're going to start talking to parents of all income strata about Early Learn NYC, whether they're subsidy-eligible parents or not, because we know that parents across New York City, regardless of income, need childcare," Hartzog says.

The new programs won't start until July of 2011. First, contracts to run the programs have to be put out to bid. It's been more than 20 years since providers have had to compete to run childcare programs in the city.

While the childcare programs are supposed to improve, they'll have room for fewer children. ACS couldn't say exactly how many slots the system will lose.