The Business Council of Westchester’s Education Foundation recently hosted Where Business and Child Care Meet, a forum for experts from the Child Care Council’s Board, Advisory Board and staff to have a conversation with business leaders about the need for – and benefits of – increasing access to sustainable child care for working parents. We were especially excited and honored to have Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul in attendance to speak about the importance of child care.. Our thanks to Dr. Marsha Gordon, John Ravitz and Maria Bronzi of the Business Council of Westchester. We look forward to many more productive meetings and conversations.

Juanita Pope, the Child Care Council's Office Manager and Special Events Manager, was chosen to be among a select group of professionals in the nonprofit sector who make up the inaugural class of Nonprofit Westchester's new Emerging Leaders Program. She and 20 other rising stars will meet at a different nonprofit each month of the year to focus on a relevant professional development topic, learn about the host organization, and network. The program, designed to help foster talent among the next generation of nonprofit leaders, launched last week and held its first session at Westhab, Inc.

Juanita shared that she is very excited to participate. "I look forward to getting to know my colleagues and learning more about the many aspects of running a successful organization and what it takes to make a true impact for the populations we serve."

Save the Date for Dream Big 2019!

Our annual celebration will take place the evening of October 3, 2019 at Whitby Castle in Rye.

Westchester Parent Child Care Survey

The Council's annual survey of Westchester parents on their child care experiences yielded evidence once again that safe, quality, affordable child care is beyond the reach of many, negatively impacting their work lives and likely costing employers money:

• The high cost of child care drives familes into debt - nearly half the respondents had trouble paying their child care bills in the last 6 months
• Location is the number one consideration for parents when choosing care, far more than the quality of the program
• Thousands of eligible parents do not know about the child care subsidy offered by the Westchester County Department of Social Services
• Child care issues greatly diminish work attendance, punctuality, productivity, and retention
• Child care considerations influence actual employment decisions

The Council can help working parents find reliable, quality child care and in some cases, identify and apply for financial assistance such as the child care subsidy. Parents can contact the Council to speak to an experienced child care counselor at (914) 761-3456 x140.

Employers interested in providing their employees with the Council's services at no cost should contact Nicole Masucci at (914) 761-3456 x139 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To see the full 2018 Westchester Parent Child Care Survey, click here.

The Child Care Council of Westchester was saddened and disappointed to learn about the Blank family’s traumatic experience at a local child care center. Our hearts go out to them and we wish Max a speedy recovery.

When it comes to choosing child care, parents in Westchester face a daunting and difficult decision. Child care here is among the most expensive in the nation, and parents are often forced to focus on cost and location first and foremost. When considering other fac...tors, like quality, they don’t always know what to look for. How can they tell at a glance if a center is safe and well-staffed? Is what they see during a visit really representative of daily operations? Will the staff members parents meet on day one still be there weeks or months later? How are emergencies handled?

The answer lies in knowing what questions to ask – and that’s where the Child Care Council of Westchester can help. We encourage EVERY parent in Westchester seeking child care to call us FIRST. At no cost, one of our trained specialists will tell them about the different kinds of child care, what questions to ask, how to find out if there are any violations, and which providers meet specific needs they may have, like a place to breastfeed or the ability to administer asthma medication. We are a private nonprofit organization established for this very reason and we are the ONLY resource in Westchester that can provide all of this information to parents, for free.

Our child care specialists are available by phone Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm and on Tuesday until 7pm, as well as by appointment. Call (914) 761-3456 x140.