The Mamdani administration will remove 10,000 low-income families from a growing wait list for subsidized child care, city officials announced Monday.
This decision will provide major relief to parents who cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket for child care and to providers who are struggling to fill spots in their programs. Child care advocates had asked Mayor Zohran Mamdani to remove families from the waiting list as he worked to build a universal child care system across all five boroughs.
“For families struggling to make ends meet, and for the providers who provide them with consistent, high-quality child care, access to vouchers is nothing short of transformational. Today’s voucher expansion is a crucial step in ensuring that no family is left behind in our movement toward universal child care,” Mamdani said in a statement.
The popular Child Care Assistance Program is largely state-funded and subsidizes child care and after-school activities for children ages 6 weeks to 13 years. More than 100,000 New York City families, eligible based on income, use a voucher. A family of four can earn up to $116,000 to qualify.
But demand for vouchers has far exceeded the program’s budget, despite historic investments by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the city, leaving thousands of families languishing on a growing waitlist since May 2025.
Families who were homeless, had a child with special needs, or were considered very low income, such as earning less than $99,000 for a family of four, were given priority to receive a voucher or keep the voucher they had. All other families newly approved or trying to renew their vouchers for another year were placed on the waiting list.
Child care providers said some of the families they serve had to pull their children out of their programs this year after losing their vouchers. Providers, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods, rely heavily on vouchers to cover the cost of care.
More than 29,000 families are on the waiting list, Mamdani said at a news conference in the Bronx on Monday. City officials said if families are still eligible, their vouchers will be approved in the coming months.
“There are families who will stay in New York for generations because of this investment today. There are young children who will get the head start they deserve because of this investment today. There are child care providers who are struggling to get by, who will keep their doors open,” Brooklyn Council Member Lincoln Restler, who has long advocated for additional voucher funding, said Monday.
Hochul is investing $475 million to remove families from the waiting list.
“No family should struggle to afford the child care they need and deserve, and I will continue to fight to provide universal child care to every family in our city and state,” she said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the city also announced it would cover all out-of-pocket expenses related to the vouchers and make them completely free for 22,000 families. Parents pay no more than $15 per week for care, but this can vary depending on their income. Families receiving public assistance do not have weekly fees.
Parents will now be able to consult the city’s new child care map to find out which programs accept vouchers.
This story has been updated with more information.
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