Items filtered by date: May 2024

Let's do something great for Westchester's childen!

• Do you have an amazing idea for your child care/after school program that needs some resources?

• Something you've always wanted to try?

• A promising approach that will make great things possible for Westchester children?

Then we encourage you to apply for a Cate Riley Innovation for Quality Prize. Three (3) grants up to $2,000 each will be awarded.

Child care centers, after school programs, family and group family providers, nursery schools and child care resource and referral agencies are eligible.

Applications are due by close of business on Tuesday, May 31, 2022.

For more info: CLICK HERE!

For an application: CLICK HERE!

For questions, email Kathy Halas, Executive Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A message from Kathy Halas, Executive Director

The 22-23 NYS budget is a good step toward what we need for child care in New York, making care more affordable and delivering some additional compensation to the grossly underpaid child care workforce.

Here are the highlights, with details, especially around the timing, still pending:

• Income eligibility for the Low Income Child Care Subsidy goes from 200% FPL to 300% as of 8/1/22. A family of 4 can now earn up to $83,250 and be eligible, up from $53,000.
• Parent co-pays are capped at 10% of income over FPL for families with incomes under 300% FPL.
• Parents enrolled in higher education are now eligible for child care subsidy without having to meet a work requirement.
• The market rate, the basis of provider reimbursement, will rise from the 69th to the 80th percentile.
• $343 million is invested in a stabilization fund, 75% of which must go to the workforce in the form of wage increases, bonuses, tuition reimbursement, retirement/health benefits, etc.
• $125 million increase for PreK slots, including $25 million in a competitive grant for new slots at the $10,000 per child level.

We thank our entire Westchester State Delegation for its support, especially Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, for making child care a priority and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, for leading the charge on PreK.

To all of you reading this message, especially those of you working in child care, none of this would have happened without your speaking up on our child care crisis, your participation in our letter-writing campaigns, call-ins and virtual advocacy events. On behalf of the Child Care Council Board of Directors, and our entire staff team, we thank you.

But we're not done, far from it

We're going to keep working, building on the progress this year, until we get to a truly universal system of child care in NY!

#fundchildcare #NYSUniversalchildcare #UniversalPreK

The application portal for this new $70mil funding opportunity opened on Monday, April 11^th at  https://ocfs.ny.gov/cc-deserts!

The funds are part of a $100 million program from the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), to expand the supply of new child care slots across the state, especially in areas that are “child care deserts”, with little or no supply of regulated child care. Grant recipients can use the funding to support start-up expenses, personnel costs, general child care business expenses and staff expenses in accessing COVID-19 vaccines. Additional details on eligibility and requirements of the grant can be found in the Request for Applications.

Applicants must have submitted their request for an application for a license before their grant application submission. All applicants must complete the OCFS online orientation before applying at  https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/providers/cdc-orientation.php. Once the orientation is completed, applicants can request a licensing application. Please visit the OCFS website here for more information and to apply for the grant.

Need more info on what is involved in various types of regulated child care?  To register for one of our FREE modality-specific info sessions click here .

Need help understanding the business challenges involved in running a child care program?  Join us at our Blending and Braiding Training, offered on 3 different times, and the Core Business Training, a series of 6 sessions that not only goes into budgeting and financial management, but also staffing, marketing, contracts and more.  Check out these FREE training opportunities click here .

Child care for Westchester working parents is about to be a lot more affordable thanks to historic funding by Westchester County.

Recognizing that the cost of child care is a burden for so many Westchester families and often a barrier to employment, the County raised income eligibility for its Child Care Subsidy Program, and then worked with the Council to create the Westchester Works Program to help working parents at even higher incomes, up to 85% of State Median Income.

Once “over-income” for child care financial assistance at $34,841, a family of two can now have a gross income of up to $60,674 and be eligible for the Westchester Works Child Care Scholarship Program.

As of April 1st, the Council is accepting applications for the new Westchester Works Child Care Scholarship Program.

Applications are available in both English and Spanish:

For English click here

For Spanish click here

For more information on the Program, including income eligibilityclick here.

On behalf of the Council staff, our Board of Directors, and Westchester’s hard-working parents, we want to extend our thanks once again to County Executive George Latimer, the Board of Legislators and the Department of Social Services for this tremendous investment in our workforce of today and tomorrow!

Child Care Council Executive Director Kathy Halas was pleased to join Assembly Members Amy Paulin, Michaelle Solages, and Ken Zebrowski, along with school officials and other child care advocates, to rally for fully funded universal full-day pre-k statewide.

Fully funding the Statewide Universal Full-Day Pre-K program is a key component of the strong, stable, affordable and equitable early care and education system that New York needs to build without delay. Most parents simply cannot afford to pay what quality early childhood education costs, with devastating and long-term consequences. A robust investment in this program brings new opportunities to parents and their children that will benefit us all.

Click here to read the complete press release.

Representative Mondaire Jones took immediate action on child care upon entering office, even with so many important issues facing him as a newly elected Congressman. He prioritized one of the most critical investments we can make - a good start for children - and that is why we are so thrilled to present him with the Legislative Leadership Award at Dream Big 2022.

"In the richest nation in the world, child care should be universal, and it's why I've worked so hard, and will keep working, to ensure that it is."

~ Congressman Mondaire Jones, in a Sept. 2021 press release

Mondaire Jones is serving his first term as the Congressman from New York's 17th District, encompassing all of Rockland County and parts of central and northern Westchester County. A product of East Ramapo public schools, Rep. Jones was raised in Section 8 housing and on food stamps in the Village of Spring Valley by a single mother who worked multiple jobs to provide for their family. After graduating from Stanford University, Rep. Jones worked in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy. He later graduated from Harvard Law School. Prior to running for Congress, Rep. Jones worked as a litigator in private practice. Subsequently, he served as a litigator in the Westchester County Law Department. Rep. Jones served on the NAACP's National Board of Directors and on the board of the New York Civil Liberties Union, and co-founded the nonprofit Rising Leaders, Inc.

He is a member of the Judiciary, Ethics, and Education and Labor Committees and serves as the Freshman Representative to Leadership in the 117th Congress, making him the youngest member of the Democratic House leadership team. He also serves as a Deputy Whip for the Congressional Progressive Caucus and as a Co-Chair of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus.

Join us to celebrate Congressman Mondaire Jones and support the Child Care Council

Our 2022 Give Local Leader is a company that not only makes a measurable impact through its community support, but sets an important example about the power of good corporate citizenship that is sure to inspire others. With a grant from RXR's COVID-19 Relief Fund, we were able to provide child care scholarships for essential working families in New Rochelle during the pandemic, helping to ensure that children were safe, loved and learning and enabling their parents to return to work at critical jobs.

"At RXR, we know that we are more successful as a company when the communities where we operate also succeed. Affordable, quality childcare is key to building stronger communities. We're proud of our support of the Child Care Council of Westchester throughout the pandemic and we look forward to continuing our partnership as we move towards a new normal."

RXR is an innovative investor, developer, and place-maker committed to applying a customer and community-centered approach to building properties, services, and products that create enduring value for all stakeholders. Headquartered in New York with a national platform strategy, RXR is a 500+ person, vertically integrated operating, and development company with expertise in a wide array of value creation activities. The RXR COVID-19 Relief Fund was created by RXR to support the immediate needs of the residents and organizations of New Rochelle directly impacted by the COVID-19 public health crisis, as well as the eventual long-term recovery of the city.

Join us to celebrate RXR and support the Child Care Council

We can't think of any organization more deserving of the Transformative Impact Award than the Westchester Community Foundation (WCF). For more than 45 years, WCF has funded programs and projects that drastically improve the quality of life in Westchester for so many. We are fortunate to be among the many nonprofits supported through the Foundation, most recently with a grant to fund child care scholarships for essential workers, whom the WCF stepped up to help at a most critical time. This funding ensured children had access to safe, quality child care and their parents could return to work serving the community during the pandemic.

"Everyone benefits from a stable network of safe, high-quality child care. An investment in early childhood development benefits the child, their family, local businesses, government, taxpayers and society-at-large. The Foundation values our long partnership with the Child Care Council of Westchester, because we share a vision of a Westchester where children have every opportunity to develop into healthy, educated, and confident adults."

-Laura Rossi, Executive Director, Westchester Community Foundation

The Westchester Community Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of of life for all Westchester residents by connecting past, present, and future generous Westchester residents with nonprofits working to make a healthy, equitable, and thriving community.

Join us to celebrate Westchester Community Foundation and support the Child Care Council

Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council Workforce Solutions Webinar

Executive Director, Kathy Halas, and Director of Family and Employer Services, Nicole Masucci, spoke to employers throughout the Mid-Hudson region on a February 11^th webinar presented by the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council. Child care issues are a major obstacle for workers, especially women. The CCCW, as well as its partner child care resource and referral agencies in the region, can make finding care so much easier for parents, and in some cases, help parents access financial resources as well for what is often the biggest bill in the household.

Part of the Mid-Hudson Workforce Solutions Webinar Series, you can view the CCCW presentation, “Child Care Resources for Employers” here.

View the Webinar Slides here.