NY State Senate Bill 2025-S6424

Senate Bill S6424

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Establishes a weekend child day care assistance program for New York army and air national guard members

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Veterans, Homeland Security And Military Affairs Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 13, 2025	referred to veterans, homeland security and military affairs

2025-S6424 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Veterans, Homeland Security And Military Affairs
Law Section:: Military Law
Laws Affected:: Add §257, Mil L

2025-S6424 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes a weekend child day care assistance program to provide for child day care at a child care provider for New York army and air national guard members on drill weekends.

2025-S6424 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6424

SPONSOR: ASHBY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the military law, in relation to establishing a weekend
child day care assistance program for New York army and air national
guard members

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide free childcare for New York National Guard members who are in
need of childcare during weekend drill.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 directs the division of military and naval affairs, in
conjunction with the office of children and family services, to develop
and implement a "weekend child day care assistance program" for the
families of National Guard members. The program would include an initial
registration process, as well as a monthly childcare reservation system.

The program will provide free hourly care during scheduled weekend drill
periods for up to 12 hours. An eligible child would need to be enrolled
in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).

Payments will be made directly from the program to the childcare provid-
er.

Section 2 provides that this act shall take effect on the 90th day after
it becomes law, but allows for immediate development of rules and regu-
lations necessary to implement.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In order to both retain and attract more New York Army and Air National
Guard members, NYS needs to address one of the many deterrents for
National Guard families- finding quality child care during weekend drill
period hours. Family dynamics may range from dual-military spouses to
single parent households or married households with a spouse who works
or goes to school on the weekend, but the dilemma of finding childcare
for weekend drill remains. With no on-base child care options, National
Guard members are sometimes forced to miss drill weekends all together,
or they attend but are worried about whether their childcare is adequate
or falling through.

If New York State wants dedicated soldiers who are trained and ready to
deploy, they must provide this free childcare. No-cost child care will
allow a soldier to be 100% focused on training because they know their
family is being taken care of.

While the National Guard Bureau on the federal level has tried to estab-
lish two pilot programs to provide weekend childcare (2022 and 2024),
neither one of them offered this benefit to New York. The first one
failed due to few weekend childcare providers, and a cumbersome regis-
tration process. Thus, this is the perfect opportunity for New York
State to step up and fill a need.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2025-S6424 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6424
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 13, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ASHBY  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
   ty and Military Affairs
 
 AN ACT to amend the military law, in relation to establishing a  weekend
   child  day  care assistance program for New York army and air national
   guard members

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. The military law is amended by adding a new section 257 to
 read as follows:
   § 257. WEEKEND CHILD DAY CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 1. FOR THE  PURPOSES
 OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "NEW  YORK  NATIONAL GUARD" MEANS BOTH THE NEW YORK ARMY NATIONAL
 GUARD ESTABLISHED UNDER SECTION FORTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER, AND  THE  NEW
 YORK  AIR  NATIONAL  GUARD  ESTABLISHED  UNDER SECTION FORTY-TWO OF THIS
 CHAPTER.
   (B) "THE PROGRAM" MEANS THE WEEKEND CHILD DAY CARE ASSISTANCE  PROGRAM
 ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
   (C)  "DUAL-MILITARY  FAMILY" MEANS A TWO-PARENT FAMILY WHERE BOTH SUCH
 PARENTS ARE ENLISTED AS MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD,  OR  ANY
 OTHER FEDERAL MILITARY BRANCH.
   (D) "CHILD DAY CARE" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS DEFINED BY SECTION
 THREE HUNDRED NINETY OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW.
   (E)  "CHILD  CARE  PROVIDER"  MEANS AN ENTITY OPERATING AS A CHILD DAY
 CARE CENTER OR FAMILY DAY CARE HOME UNDER SECTION THREE  HUNDRED  NINETY
 OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW.
   2. THE DIVISION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE
 OFFICE  OF  CHILDREN  AND FAMILY SERVICES, SHALL DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A
 "WEEKEND CHILD DAY CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM" TO BENEFIT  MEMBERS  OF  THE
 NEW  YORK  NATIONAL GUARD, INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT OF AN INITIAL REGISTRA-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10851-02-5
 S. 6424                             2

 
 TION PROCESS, AND A MONTHLY RESERVATION PROCESS FOR  NEW  YORK  NATIONAL
 GUARD MEMBERS TO RESERVE CHILD DAY CARE WITH A CHILD CARE PROVIDER.
   3.  THE  PROGRAM  SHALL PROVIDE FREE HOURLY CHILD DAY CARE, AT A CHILD
 CARE PROVIDER THAT HAS OPTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM, FOR NEW YORK
 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS DURING SCHEDULED WEEKEND DRILL PERIODS, FOR UP TO
 TWELVE HOURS. SUCH CHILD DAY CARE SHALL BE REIMBURSABLE AS  PROVIDED  IN
 THIS  SECTION.  NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS SEEKING TO ENROLL IN THE
 PROGRAM SHALL MAKE AN INITIAL  APPLICATION  TO  THE  PROGRAM,  AND  ONCE
 ASSISTED,  SHALL  RESERVE  CHILD DAY CARE UNDER THE PROGRAM MONTHLY AT A
 CHILD CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM.
   4. ALL CHILD DAY CARE COSTS SHALL BE PROCESSED DIRECTLY TO  THE  CHILD
 CARE  PROVIDER  AND  PROCESSED  IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROGRAM POLICIES,
 DEPENDENT ON SUBMISSION OF  COMPLETED  ATTENDANCE  SHEETS.  NO  PAYMENTS
 SHALL  BE GUARANTEED UNTIL A FINAL APPROVAL CERTIFICATE HAS BEEN SENT TO
 BOTH THE NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD MEMBER  ENROLLED  IN  THE  PROGRAM  AND
 CHILD CARE PROVIDER. IT SHALL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BOTH THE NEW YORK
 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBER ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM AND CHILD CARE PROVIDER TO
 REVIEW  ALL  APPROVALS  FOR  ACCURACY, AND TO REPORT ANY INACCURACIES AS
 SOON AS POSSIBLE.
   5. NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM SHALL:
   (A) BE IN GOOD STANDING WITH THEIR UNIT, WHICH  SHALL  INCLUDE,  AT  A
 MINIMUM,  HAVING ATTENDED ALL REQUIRED DRILLS, COMPLETED ASSIGNED TASKS,
 AND MAINTAINED COMPLIANCE WITH UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS;
   (B) PROVE THAT NO OTHER ADULT IN SUCH NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD MEMBER'S
 HOUSEHOLD IS ABLE TO CARE FOR SUCH MEMBER'S CHILD OR CHILDREN DURING THE
 SCHEDULED DRILL WEEKEND; AND
   (C) EITHER: (I) BE A SINGLE PARENT, OR  BE  PART  OF  A  DUAL-MILITARY
 FAMILY WHERE SUCH NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD MEMBER'S SPOUSE IS PARTICIPAT-
 ING  IN  A  DRILL  DURING THE SAME WEEKEND, IS DEPLOYED, OR IS ATTENDING
 SERVICE-RELATED CLASSES OR TRAINING ON A DRILL WEEKEND; OR
   (II) HAVE ENROLLED THEIR CHILD OR CHILDREN IN THE  DEFENSE  ENROLLMENT
 ELIGIBILITY  REPORTING  SYSTEM  AS  DEPENDENTS OF SUCH NEW YORK NATIONAL
 GUARD MEMBER, IF SUCH CHILD OR CHILDREN ARE  BETWEEN  THE  AGES  OF  SIX
 WEEKS TO TWELVE YEARS OLD.
   6. CHILD CARE PROVIDERS PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM SHALL:
   (A)  MAINTAIN  COMPLIANCE  WITH  SECTION  THREE  HUNDRED NINETY OF THE
 SOCIAL SERVICES LAW;
   (B) SUBMIT TO AN ADVANCED  FEDERAL  BUREAU  OF  INVESTIGATION  FEDERAL
 FINGERPRINT  BACKGROUND  CHECK  AND  FEDERAL  CHILD ABUSE REGISTRY CHECK
 CONDUCTED AND ADJUDICATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES  FOR  ANY
 CHILD DAY CARE EMPLOYEES, AND FOR FAMILY DAY CARE HOMES, AS SUCH TERM IS
 DEFINED  BY SECTION THREE HUNDRED NINETY OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW, ALL
 HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS AGED EIGHTEEN YEARS AND OLDER;
   (C) MAINTAIN A CHILD DAY CARE LIABILITY INSURANCE POLICY  COVERAGE  OF
 AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS; AND
   (D)  MAINTAIN A CERTIFICATION IN FIRST AID AND INFANT/CHILD CARDIOPUL-
 MONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR).
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
 on or before such effective date.

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