Applying for a New York City program to help families offset child care costs can be so onerous that many providers say seats remain unfilled even as most parents across the five boroughs can’t afford to pay.
“There's all kinds of places along the route where families can make errors or be deemed ineligible,” said Debra Sue Lorenzen, director of youth and education for St. Nicks Alliance, which helps low- and moderate-income families and runs an early childhood program.
New Yorkers who earn below certain income levels and meet other work or education requirements can qualify for year-round subsidized care for their children five years old or younger. The program, known as extended day and year care, offers longer day care hours that extend through the summer, unlike the city’s free programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, which mirror the school calendar and run for six hours a day.
Early childhood experts say the extended day program is a missed opportunity to help more working-class families, at a time when 80% of New Yorkers can’t afford the cost of child care and as the city’s universal preschool program faces an overhaul through the recent budget deal reached between the Adams administration and the City Council.
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