Childcare is prohibitively expensive, so New York is looking to expand free services. But the path to universal childcare in the state has hit some roadblocks as the expectations for workers continues to grow – even as salaries don’t.
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Annie Bennett: This is WAMC's Northeast Notebook. I'm Annie Bennett.
Melissa Manno: The 2027 enacted budget - it's going to require every public school district to provide a seat to every four-year-old whose family wants one by the 2028-2029 school year.
Annie Bennett: New York Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing the Empire State further down the path to universal childcare. But her expansion efforts are hitting roadblocks.
Valarie Evans: The expectations that come along with childcare workers is just ever-growing, and the salaries just aren't matching those expectations.
Motier Haskins: It is very much one of those things that you have to learn by trial and error and talking to people who are currently into it. So, yeah, if you have no connections, it is very difficult to navigate.
Annie Bennett: What is the state of New York's childcare infrastructure? And how can New York overcome obstacles to the pesky preschool problem - that care for toddlers is becoming increasingly expensive and scarce?
Masiela and Iris: (laughing)
Siai-Anne Haskins: Not too fast, please! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're going to run into it! Oh girl...
Motier Haskins: One of the largest mistakes we made when we first had our oldest was attempting to find childcare, I think a couple months after she was born, and then realizing that availability was, like, absolutely nonexistent.
Masiela and Iris: Ow! Oh my god.
Annie Bennett: When Masiela was born, her parents were ecstatic. But Motier and Siai-Anne Haskins are both working parents. And as the end to Siai-Anne's four-month maternity leave grew closer, the Albany couple started to panic. Motier says that he and his wife couldn't find a daycare spot open.
Motier Haskins: Yeah, we were hitting the end, and it was a terrifying time. But a lot of the places, they took deposits, but then guaranteed us nothing. It was tough.
Annie Bennett: Right as they were running out of time and as Siai-Anne was preparing to return to work, they got lucky.
Motier Haskins: Divine intervention, because the daycare person - my wife happened to just put herself on a list. The person before us didn't show up.
Annie Bennett: Fast-forward now to when Masiela turned three. Her parents played the preschool lottery. Alright, let's break this down: So in New York, 3K (preschool) and 4K (prekindergarten) have state-sponsored seats and private seats. Parents can enter their kid into a lottery for a public spot offered by their district's program. But if they're denied, they might have to try their luck at finding an open seat in a private preschool, which are scarce and expensive.
Motier Haskins: It was a scramble. It is very much one of those things that you have to learn by trial and error and talking to people who are currently into it. So, yeah, if you have no connections, it is very difficult to navigate.
Masiela: Leave him alone, Iris. No, no, stop, stop!
Masiela and Iris: Ahh!
Melissa Manno: For the past few decades, it's been up to school districts whether or not they want to offer universal pre-K.
Annie Bennett: That's Melissa Manno, an education reporter for New York Focus.
Melissa Manno: Earlier this year, I obtained data from the state finding that thousands of four-year-olds throughout the state don't have access to universal pre-K because their school districts have decided to opt out of the program.
Annie to Melissa: That is changing now, you're saying?
Melissa Manno: That is changing now, so...
Annie Bennett: She explained that if a school district provides universal pre-K, the state will reimburse part of the cost for each seat and the district will pay the rest. Many districts feel that it may not be worth their while.
Melissa Manno: Historically, school districts were given a minimum of $5,400 for each four-year-old they serve.
Annie to Melissa: Okay.
Melissa Manno: $5,400, right? School districts are telling me, "Well, it actually costs $10,000 to educate a four-year-old. And so in order for us to accept that $5,000 from the state, we have to dip into our pockets."
Annie to Melissa: We have to provide $4,600.
Melissa Manno: Exactly. Exactly. Um, and that amount differs by region.
Annie to Melissa: Yeah, for sure.
Melissa Manno: But it's not like it's just a pass-through. They're having to dip into their own pockets and, school districts already have really tight budgets.
Annie to Melissa: Of course. So, they'd rather not take the free money and then have to provide their own.
Melissa Manno: Exactly.
Annie to Melissa: They'd rather just deny the money and not have to spend anything of their own.
Melissa Manno: Exactly. And, you know, this is... I think this is the debate, really, when it comes to universal pre-K, which is: what should the state be paying and how much of the burden should school districts be shouldering? And really, the answer depends on who you ask.
Annie Bennett: As part of New York's universal pre-K program, the state has agreed to up its reimbursement from $5400 to $10,000 but...
Melissa Manno: Over time, though, as the cost of childcare has skyrocketed, in New York State at least, eligibility for the program has expanded, demand has exploded, and so this program has become incredibly popular for families.
Annie Bennett: So, families can hire babysitters, nannies, or count on the kindness of relatives, but if they want their kids educated at ages 3 and 4, they have to get on waitlists and lotteries.
Motier Haskins: The process was we would sign up, and we had the top five locations that they had available. We had our choice of which ones we wanted to ideally go to, and then if chosen, you had that availability. Now, with my oldest, the first time, that did not occur. My top three were places that were close to my house, and they ended up saying, while selected, none of those places are available, so we had to pick from a few other places.
Annie Bennett: So, where are all these 4-year-olds going to go? Is the childcare landscape ready for a mandatory increase in spots? Valarie Evans, the director of Children's Place at the Plaza in Albany, says no.
Valarie Evans: So, we're an OCFS center, so we have to follow ratios, which means we have to have a certain number of staff to a certain amount of children. We're... we obviously always stay within ratio, but there are times that we need to maybe ask families if they have the ability to keep their child home to do so, or we may need to alter our operation hours to make sure that we stay in OCFS compliance, which then impacts families' jobs if they don't have a flexible job who's understanding.
Annie Bennett: And with more students in preschools, Valerie worries there won't be enough staff to support them.
Valarie Evans: Along with the staffing shortages, the pool of candidates that are experienced and qualified and still willing to work in childcare is getting slimmer and slimmer. The expectations that come along with childcare workers is just ever-growing, and the salaries just aren't matching those expectations.
Annie Bennett: Melissa reported that the average salary for childcare workers is about $38,000. That's about 17 dollars an hour, which is only $1 above minimum wage Upstate.
Melissa Manno: In New York at least, you can make more money working in retail or at a local fast food joint than you can caring for four-year-old children.
Valarie Evans: You know, on the days that we may be short-staffed and I have to tell families like, "Hey, I don't have coverage to be able to accept your child today." And then to look at that parent's face, and I have had people say like, "I have to go to work or, like, I'm gonna lose my job." Like, that is not a fun feeling. But also I know that if I accept that child, then we're out of OCFS compliance and then I'm jeopardizing the whole center.
Melissa Manno: We are trying to build all of these new, shiny childcare programs, 2K, 3K, on top of this foundation, which is, an underpaid, underrepresented workforce. And so that foundation is splintering. Can we build these programs on top of it? I think every advocate I've spoken to, every childcare worker, every business owner, you know, daycare owner that I've spoken to says it's not likely.
Annie Bennett: But, meanwhile, the legislation is great news for Mo and Siai-Anne and little Iris.
Annie to Motier: Did you hear that in the 2028 school year, 4K has to be universal, and has to meet all demand in the state?
Motier Haskins: Did not know that. I will have a four-year-old then. That just took a lot of relief off from me. That's fantastic. My wife is gonna be ecstatic to hear that.
Annie Bennett: Northeast Notebook is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Our Executive Producer is Lucas Willard, our Editor is Diane Devore, original Music by Eduardo Rivera. Consider subscribing to Northeast Notebook wherever you get your podcasts. If you did enjoy the show, or, hey, even if you didn't, we'd love for you to rate and review. It's just one small way you can support public radio. This episode was hosted and produced by me, Annie Bennett. Thank you for listening.
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