Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering three bills that are part of a bipartisan effort to solve New York’s child care crisis.

As a parent, Eduardo Hernandez stressed that he knows the struggle of securing child care in New York. As an organizer for the Alliance for Quality Education, he’s joining forces with lawmakers to urge Hochul to sign the pieces of legislation, intended to modernize the process and criteria for getting assistance.

Hernandez said many of those rules don’t make sense for 2024.

“None of this should be based on what you do for work, how much you make, or the hours of your job,” he said. “This is a time when people work multiple jobs, varying hours, and our current system limits people's ability to earn a living and ensure their children have safe reliable child care,” Hernandez said.

The bills would work to chip away at roadblocks for parents. One would eliminate minimum earning requirements for parents to receive assistance. Lawmakers have long sought to emphasize that the minimum earning requirement is both outdated when considering the economic realities for some small business owners and those working in the gig economy, and unfair as it works against individuals who need assistance the most.

“If you don’t make a minimum amount, you’re not eligible for child care,” Hernandez said.

Another would decouple a parent’s child care assistance from their hours of work, which state Assemblymember Sarah Clark told reporters would allow more flexibility for parents who work part time or work unusual or fluctuating hours.

“If you’re a part time worker and you get an extra shift, you can’t take it because there’s no way your provider is going to hold a day for you on the possibility you might make it, knowing that if you don’t, they won’t get compensated.” 

The third would allow for parents to be presumed eligible for child care assistance while their application is underway if they check certain basic boxes. Lawmakers stress that getting approved is a lengthy process that often coincides with the stress of beginning a new position.

“To have to figure out every day what to do with your child as you start a new job or whatever it may be, this is just a huge burden,” Clark said.

The three bills are part of a broader effort to reform New York’s child care system, and if approved, Assmblymember Andrew Hevesi said the focus will turn to workforce development next session.

Advocates have pushed for the state to create a permanent workforce development fund to deal with what they describe as a dependence on disappearing federal dollars devoted to that purpose in the aftermath of the pandemic.

“They have been underpaid for so long, New York state has to start paying them, otherwise you’re going to have what we consistently have, and the dynamic won’t change, where people are going to take easier jobs for more money,” Hevesi said.

It wasn’t lost on anyone in the room that in order for that to happen, these parent-focused bills need the governor’s signature.

“To take this burden off of their plates so they can devote toward raising their families, advancing their careers and getting to a better place in life,” Hernandez said.

If the governor does not sign any of the three bills, Hevesi said that whatever is outstanding will become a priority for next year’s budget process.