While the sum may be modest, don't be fooled — the launch of this pilot stands to be a gamechanger with national implications. In effect, it is the first step any major city in the United States has taken toward providing universal access to free child care, starting from birth. It’s the strongest signal yet that child care has now become a top priority, not only for working families but for policymakers, leading economists and labor market experts.
For decades, child care was not part of the public budget discussion. Working parents were expected to just figure it out on their own, often at crushing financial cost. That era is over. Today, parents are organizing, fighting back and demanding that elected officials prioritize families or face the consequences at the ballot box.
The victory for child care is already resonating beyond New York’s five boroughs. Organizers in California are taking note, eager to understand how New York’s win can inspire lawmakers to pass affordable child care in their state. This isn’t a coincidence — it's the latest sign that there’s a growing national movement to recognize child care as an essential public good, not a luxury for the lucky few.
Here's what the numbers tell us: Parents in big cities around the country are being crushed under the weight of child-care costs. In New York City, parents pay an average of $23,000 annually to cover care for a 2-year-old. The equation is impossible for working families unless they drain their savings or take on tens of thousands in debt — which too many families today must do. Many others are leaving New York City, taking their tax dollars and talent with them. In 2022 alone, the city lost $23 billion in economic activity as parents left the workforce or the state entirely.
Tabloids seem to obsess over whether billionaires are leaving New York City, despite scant evidence this is actually happening. Meanwhile, there's overwhelming evidence that working families — the backbone of our economy — are actually the ones fleeing the city because its high child-care costs make raising children there impossible. Investing in child care for infants and toddlers would help stem that exodus — and at a bargain rate. New Yorkers United for Child Care has estimated that free care for all New York City 2-year-olds would cost $1.3 billion annually, a fraction what the city loses every year when families pack up and leave.
Mayor Eric Adams has tried to take a victory lap for this win, but his administration spent years slashing child-care programs. It was only when organized families made his cuts politically toxic that Adams suddenly discovered a newfound passion for helping working families. In reality, this victory belongs to the parents who refused to take no for an answer and the City Council members who had the courage to fight for what’s right.
New York is not alone in this fight. In 2022, New Mexico became the first state to offer free child care to families earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, and saw its poverty rate plummet as a result. The same year, voters in New Orleans passed a ballot measure to fund thousands of new child-care and after-school seats, paid for by a small property tax increase. Travis County, Texas, which encompasses Austin, followed suit last year. The momentum is building because the economics are undeniable and the political pressure is real.
When it comes to the needs of working families, it’s time to get back into the business of dreaming big again. Universal pre-K seemed impossible until states and cities across the country proved it could work. Raising the minimum wage to $15 was called radical until it became the national standard. Each time, skeptics said it couldn't be done — until it was.
New York City now has a chance to lead the nation on child care, just as it has on other policies to lift up working families. Parents are organized, determined and ready to fight. For elected officials and political candidates across the country, the message is crystal clear: Ignore working parents at your peril.
New York City Council member Justin Brannan chairs the council’s Finance Committee. Allison Lew is senior organizer for New Yorkers United for Child Care.
Governing’s opinion columns reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Governing’s editors or management.
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