Assemblyman Joe DeStefano (R,C-Medford) attended a press conference in Albany today, joining Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C-Pulaski), Assembly Minority colleagues, parents and child care experts to share serious concerns regarding access and affordability challenges impacting parents and children throughout the state. Nearly half of all parents say their child care situation is unworkable due to a shortage of available providers and unaffordability. Members of the Assembly Minority Conference have proposed legislation that would provide much-needed enhancements to child care access through tax incentives for families, expansion of access to early childhood education and increasing provider options.

The Assembly Minority Conference has created a three-pronged comprehensive proposal that would provide significant enhancements to child care access in the state. View the legislative package here.

“New York families need our help. I stand with my colleagues today to answer that call—the solutions proposed today will pave the way for a better future for our kids and grandkids. The primary factor contributing to the surge in child poverty, both on a national scale and in New York, stems from the conclusion of pandemic-era measures such as the expanded child tax credit, enhanced unemployment insurance and cash payments. These policies had previously assisted low-income families in coping with rising costs. Families and children need our support now more than ever. Educational success starts here. Emotional success starts here. Behavioral success starts here. How we provide and care for our children means a world of difference for how they grow up,” said DeStefano.

“I remain committed, alongside my colleagues, to shaping a brighter and more secure future for our children and families by addressing the child care shortage and affordability crisis, because every family in New York deserves that chance,” DeStefano concluded.