Hits: 481

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced an unprecedented investment as the next step to deliver affordable, universal child care for children under five years of age across New York State. The Governor will partner with Mayor Zohran Mamdani to deliver free child care for two-year-olds in New York City, in addition to strengthening the existing 3K program to achieve universal care and ultimately, serve all families across the city.

In 2026, the State will continue to expand access to high-quality child care programs throughout the state, through a diversity of models, saving New York families billions of dollars each year.

Since taking office, Governor Hochul has already taken major steps to expand access to affordable child care for families through an investment of more than $8 billion dollars in the State’s child care infrastructure, dramatically expanding access, as part of laying the groundwork for the implementation of universal child care statewide.

“There’s one thing that every family in New York can agree on, the cost of childcare is simply too high,” Governor Hochul said.

 “As New York’s first mom Governor, fighting for New York’s families has always been at the core of my agenda. Since taking office, I’ve put families front and center, fighting to make our state more affordable and laying the groundwork to deliver universal childcare. Today, I’m proud to partner with Mayor Mamdani and leaders across our state to make this a reality, turning that foundation into a concrete roadmap that will transform the lives of working parents and kids across our state.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, 

“Over the past 14 months, a movement was born to fight for a city where every New Yorker could afford a life of dignity and every family could afford to raise their kids. Today, Governor Hochul and I meet that movement as we celebrate our joint commitment to universal child care. This victory represents much more than a triumph of city and state government working in partnership — it is proof that when New Yorkers come together, we can transform the way the government serves working families.”

Governor Hochul’s State of the State investments will commit to delivering affordable childcare for nearly 100,000 more kids. Through this $1.7 billion increased investment, the total FY27 investment will be $4.5 billion for childcare and prekindergarten services statewide.

As part of Governor Hochul’s 2026 State of the State, this proposal will:

• Make Pre-K truly universal statewide,
• Partner with New York City to launch the new Mayor’s signature 2-Care program and finally realize the promise of universal 3K access in New York City,
• Support other counties in building out new child care pilots that offer high-quality affordable care to families regardless of income, and
• Expand child care subsidies to tens of thousands of additional families.

Alongside these commitments, the Governor will launch an Office of Child Care and Early Education to steer the implementation of high-quality, universal child care for New York families.

Today’s announcement builds on steps that Governor Hochul has taken to expand access to affordable child care for families, laying the groundwork for the implementation of universal child care statewide. Specifically, the State has already:

• More than doubled the number of children served by child care vouchers in just four years, with an almost 25 percent increase in the past 12 months alone.
• Provided more than $8.6 billion for child care, including more than doubling funding for subsidies.
• Dramatically expanded the number of families who are eligible by increasing the maximum income from 200 percent of Federal poverty level (roughly $64,000 for a family of four) to the maximum allowed under Federal law — 85 percent of Statewide median income (roughly $114,000 for a family of four).
• Made child care more affordable by reducing the amount those receiving subsidy pay by capping costs at $15 per week for most families.
• Increased reimbursement rates for providers by nearly 50 percent, helping providers retain staff and provide quality care for children across the state.
• Supported the future creation of thousands of child care seats and new centers through more than $150M in capital funding.

Achieving Truly Universal Pre-K

While four-year-olds in some parts of New York have long had access to Pre-K, there are dozens of school districts that have not yet been able to make it available. Governor Hochul is providing additional support to ensure truly universal Pre-K for all four-year-olds in the State by the start of the 2028-2029 school year.

The State will not only fund additional seats to achieve universality but will also increase funding for existing seats, bringing them up to the greater of $10,000 or the applicable school district’s current selected foundation aid per pupil, so that districts have what they need to provide high-quality Pre-K. This combination reflects a commitment of roughly a half-billion dollars and will ensure that every child in New York State enters kindergarten ready to learn.

Launching 2-Care and Reaching Universal 3k Access in NYC

New York City has already launched universal Pre-K and 3K, and Governor Hochul will partner with Mayor Zohran Mamdani to age this program down and launch an unprecedented initiative to offer entirely free child care for two-year-olds within New York City. The Governor is committing to fully fund the first two years of the city’s implementation. As envisioned by the incoming mayoral administration, the first year of the program will focus on high-need areas selected by New York City and expand to serve all interested families across the city by year 4. In addition, the Governor will partner with the Mayor to strengthen and fix the city’s 3K program and ensure it achieves its promise of universal access.

Continuing Access to Low-Cost, Affordable Child Care Assistance Programs

Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York has more than doubled investment in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which provides subsidies to help low-income families access child care.

By dramatically increasing the State’s investments in the program while expanding eligibility, the program now supports 2.5 times more children — an additional 100,000 — than when Governor Hochul took office; the number of children served has increased by almost 25 percent in the past year alone. Most of the families of the 170,000 children served by the program pay no more than $15 a week for child care.

This year, Governor Hochul will continue to grow the State’s investment in child care subsidies for those that need it most with a $1.2 billion increased investment, bringing the total available for subsidies to over $3 billion. This is more than 3.5 times more than the $832 million provided prior to the Governor taking office, and a nearly 40 percent increase from what was made available in the FY 2026 Enacted Budget.

Piloting Innovative Community Care Models Across New York Counties

In 2026, Governor Hochul will launch innovative new pilot projects for children in counties outside of New York City that are also ready to launch child care in more expansive ways in their communities.

The Governor will launch a new New York State pilot, designed to support counties in working towards universal access to affordable, year-round, full-day care for thousands of families across these communities, regardless of income. Programs will be a joint collaboration between participating counties and New York State.

Office of Child Care and Early Education

A new Office of Child Care and Early Education will drive the implementation of high-quality, universal child care in New York State. The Office will oversee and support roll out of universal Pre-K, continued investment in 3K, launch of 2-Care and other innovative care options, expansion and improvement of vouchers, and ongoing support for the workforce.

Supporting the Workforce Through Early Childhood Educator Preparation

Governor Hochul’s plan to strengthen New York’s early childhood education workforce includes expanding existing workforce scholarships, seeking opportunities for new Workforce Pell grants, and directing SUNY and CUNY to take a number of steps to expand and streamline early childhood education programs.

Expanding the Child and Dependent Care Credit to Better Support Families

Governor Hochul will expand and simplify the child and dependent care tax credit to provide an additional average benefit of $575 for 230,000 tax filers. She will also undertake a thorough review of existing tax incentives for employers with the goal of helping them better serve the child care needs of their employees.

Hits: 629

View in browser Outbreak Outlook – Northeast – Jan 7 Flu is very high, Covid & RSV picking up Jan 7 READ IN APP Welcome to the Northeast edition of Outbreak Outlook! It is only available to paid subscribers. If you wish to become a paid subscriber and access region-specific information, please click the Subscribe now button below. Thanks for reading! -Caitlin Subscribed Respiratory Diseases Influenza This flu season is brutal. Flu and influenza-like illness (or ILI, which looks only at symptoms) are very high nationwide, and outpatient ILI is higher in the Northeast at 10.6% than in any other region. More than 1 in 10 visits to the doctor in the Northeast this past week were for fever, cough, or sore throat. Every state in the region reported high or very high and increasing emergency department (ED) visits this past week. Outpatient influenza-like illness (%) % of visits to the doctor that are for fever and cough or sore throat Extra precautions to reduce infection are warranted right now, including masking, washing hands regularly, running an air filtration device at home if someone is sick, and avoiding large crowds. New York is likely at or just past peak, but it’s not entirely clear. Outpatient ILI increased again this week, to a super high 14.4%, but the increases were smaller this week, which suggests we’re nearing peak. Same for ED visits, which increased slightly to 9%. Hospitalizations are very high at 21.7 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. In addition, the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics estimates that New York state is past peak (see the map below). In New York City, ED visits for flu actually decreased slightly, to 7.9%, suggesting we may be just past peak there. Hospitalizations have declined slightly as well. Queens and the Bronx have highest levels of activity as measured by ED visits. Northeast: ED visits for influenza (%) % of visits to the emergency department that are for influenza   There are sharp increases in flu elsewhere across the region. More than 1 in 10 ED visits in New Jersey are for flu (10.9%), as are nearly 1 in 10 in Massachusetts (9.7%) and New Hampshire (9.5%). In Connecticut, ED visits increased again to 11.8% — above last year’s peak of 9.1%. Hospitalizations, however, decreased substantially this past week, from over 20 to 6.2; it is unusual to see a swing this large in hospitalizations, so I am wondering if there was a delay in data due to the holiday. The Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics estimates that all these states (except NH, no estimate there) are past peak (see the map below). Increases, increases, and more increases. In Rhode Island, ED visits increased to 8.5%, while in Maine, outpatient ILI more than doubled to 8.1%, and ED visits increased to 6.5%. In Pennsylvania, outpatient ILI increased to 4.7%, and ED visits for flu jumped to 6.8%. In Vermont, flu remains at more moderate levels, but is increasingly rapidly, with ED visits more than doubling in the past week to 5.1%. The Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics estimates that all these states are still seeing increases in activity. CFA’s Influenza Trends Influenza trend estimates from the CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, as of December 30, 2025. One other thing: I don’t love wastewater as a surveillance approach to influenza, but for what its worth, wastewater concentration of influenza is still rising across the region. I wanted to include this data this week despite my misgivings because I think it weighs against “calling” the peak. Northeast: influenza wastewater concentration Wastewater concentration of influenza COVID-19 In case the flu respiratory activity was not enough, Covid-19 activity is also moderately high. Wastewater activity is right on the border between moderate and high activity, having dipped very slightly this past week. ED visits increased in nearly all states in the region this week (except Rhode Island), with all states reporting rates between 0.6 and 1.3%. Wastewater activity is very high and rising in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Both states also reported increases in ED visits this past week to ~1.1%. However, hospitalizations decreased a bit in Connecticut (to 1.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 people). Northeast: Covid-19 wastewater concentration Wastewater concentration of SARS-CoV-2 In New Hampshire, wastewater activity is high and increasing (incomplete data), and ED visits increased to 1.22%. In Maine, activity is high — about where it was during the late summer wave — but it didn’t increase much this past week. ED visits, however, did and are now the highest in the region at 1.26%. In Rhode Island, wastewater activity held steady at moderate levels, alongside ED visits. In Pennsylvania, wastewater activity was moderate and stable, and ED visits increased to 1.24%. In New York, ED visits are the lowest in the region, at 0.64%, but are increasing, along with wastewater activity (though data are incomplete), and hospitalizations (3.6). Wastewater activity is low in New Jersey and Vermont, and while ED visits remain relatively low in these states, they increased nonetheless. Northeast: ED visits for Covid-19 (%) % of visits to the emergency department that are for Covid-19 RSV RSV is moderate and rising in the Northeast, with ED visits at a little under 0.4%. Most states in the region reported increases in ED visits this past week, with the exception of Massachusetts (which decreased to 0.35%) and Maine (where it held stead at 0.04%). Rates are highest in New Jersey, where ED visits have risen to a moderate 0.65%. In comparison, last year’s RSV season peaked at about double that rate. ED visits more than doubled in the past week in Rhode Island, to 0.45%. New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and Vermont all reported increases to between 0.26 and 0.41%. Despite the increase in ED visits, hospitalizations in New York, dipped slightly this week, to 1.3 hospitalizations per 100,000, and more substantively in Connecticut, to 0.5. Northeast: ED visits for RSV (%) % of visits to the emergency department that are for RSV Other Bugs Adenovirus remains very high. Human metapneumovirus and human coronaviruses continue to slowly rise and are at moderate activity. Parainfluenza and rhinoviruses/enteroviruses are both declining, but still at moderate activity. Stomach Bugs Data did not update yet, so I am repeating what I said in the national edition a few days ago: Norovirus continues its upward climb. In the Midwest, Northeast, and South, norovirus wastewater activity is high and rising. In the West, wastewater activity remains more moderate, but is also rising. Noro is extremely contagious — this is where hand washing regularly (with soap and water, hand sanitizer is not particularly effective), avoiding touching your face, avoiding communal bowls of food/drink, and wiping down surfaces with soap and water or a diluted bleach solution can really help with prevention. Food recalls The following foods are being recalled because they are contaminated. Please check your cupboards and throw out any of these items: New: Primavera Nueva tamale products, variety of flavors (more info) Previously Reported: There is a big recall of hundreds of products — from Airhead candies to meat to Splenda packets — that passed through a single distributor and were sold to over 50 stores, primarily in Minnesota and Indiana. I strongly urge you to check out the list of stores (here) and if you’ve shopped at one of them recently, check out the much longer list of items that are being recalled (here) Country Vet Biscuits & Heartland Harvest Dog Biscuits [for dogs] are being recalled for potential contamination with Salmonella. Salmonella can sicken both pets who consume the treats, and humans who handle the products (or who touch surfaces the items touched). (more info) Forward Farms Grass-Fed Ground Beef (more info) Frozen raw shrimp sold under the Market 32 and Waterfront Bistro brand names, due to possible cesium-137 contamination (more info) Lucky Foods cinnamon powder, due to potential lead contamination (more info) ByHeart Infant Formula due to potential botulism contamination (more info) In other news NEWN YORK REJECTS ALL RECENT AND UNILATERAL CHANGES IN CDC IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE! An alert went out this afternoon regarding immunization recommendations in New York: “The New York State Department of Health and the NYC Health Department reject all recent and unilateral changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immunization schedule. There are no changes to New York State and New York City school immunization requirements and related policies, vaccine access, insurance coverage, or the Vaccines for Children Program (VFC).” This follows the recent change to the childhood immunization schedule at the federal level that moved a number of core vaccines to a lesser category of recommendation. Like Comment Restack

Hits: 422

TOMORROW: GILLIBRAND TO DEMAND THAT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REVERSE DECISION TO RIP AWAY CHILD CARE FUNDING FOR NEW YORK

Washington, D.C. – Tomorrow, Thursday, January 8^th at 10:30 AM: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will hold a virtual press conference to demand that the Trump administration unfreeze the grants that provide child care assistance to thousands of families in New York.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration froze $10 billion in funding for child care subsidies, social services, and cash support for low-income families in five Democrat-controlled states—including New York. The administration is claiming widespread fraud throughout these states, but it has not provided any evidence of this in New York. The funding freeze will harm tens of thousands of children in New York and threatens the livelihood of hardworking caregivers.

Senator Gillibrand will discuss the importance of child care assistance for working parents and demand an immediate reversal of the administration’s funding freeze.

Hits: 496

Hits: 141

WHITE PLAINS, NY—The Westchester County Board of Legislators began the 2026 term on Monday night, re-electing Board Chairman Vedat Gashi (D–New Castle, Ossining, Somers, Yorktown) and electing Legislator Terry Clements (D–New Rochelle, Pelham, Pelham Manor) as Vice Chair. Sunday Vanderberg was elected to her fifth term as the Board’s Clerk and Chief Administrative Officer.

The Board’s majority Democratic caucus elected Legislator Judah Holstein (D–Eastchester, New Rochelle, Tuckahoe) as Majority Leader and Legislator Shanae Williams (D–Yonkers) as Majority Whip. The start-of-term leadership vote followed the swearing-in of the whole Board by Westchester County Clerk Hon. Thomas M. Roach. Two new legislators—Jenn Puja (D–White Plains, Scarsdale, West Harrison) and Anant Nambiar (D–Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Rye, Harrison) were inaugurated to their first terms.

Gashi said, “I’m grateful for the trust my colleagues have placed in me as we begin a new term. Over the past two years, this Board expanded quality housing opportunities, restored funding for affordable childcare, strengthened protections for domestic violence survivors, and made targeted investments to keep Westchester accessible for working families and seniors. I look forward to continuing that work together.”

Clements said, “I’m honored to serve as Vice Chair and remain committed to ensuring every voice in Westchester is heard and valued. Together with my colleagues, we’ll continue advocating for policies that uplift our communities and strengthen the democratic values that make our county strong. I’m grateful to the residents and my fellow legislators for their continued support as we move forward with unity and purpose.”

Holstein said, “I’m honored to have been selected as the next Majority Leader of the Westchester County Board of Legislators. The year ahead will bring new and unique challenges, and by working together we can govern responsibly, protect essential services, and continue delivering for the people and communities of Westchester County.”

Williams said, “I am deeply grateful to my colleagues for entrusting me with the role of Majority Whip for this new term. I take this responsibility seriously and am committed to upholding the duties of this position with respect and purpose. We have important work ahead, and our focus will remain on advancing common-sense legislation that benefits all Westchester County residents. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues in leadership and within the Democratic caucus to ensure a productive and successful term.”

Vanderberg said, “It’s a privilege that the legislators have again placed their confidence in me. I look forward to continue assisting them in serving the people of Westchester County for another term.”

The minority caucus re-elected Legislator Margaret A. Cunzio (C–North Castle, Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, Harrison) as Minority Leader, and Legislator James Nolan (R–Yonkers, Eastchester, Bronxville) as Minority Whip.

Watch the full Organizational Meeting here.