Senator Velmanette Montgomery and other elected officials call on Governor Andrew Cuomo to invest the $163.4 Million of CARES Act funding designated for Child Care

Senator Velmanette Montgomery joined by Senator Roxanne Persaud (D-Brooklyn), Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffe (D-Rockland), and Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) in calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to immediately invest the $163.4 Million of CARES Act funding designated for Child Care. In the letter the elected officials have made it clear that they demand 3 things be down with this funding at minimum.

• Provide free/low-cost, safe, child care to the children of essential workers for the duration of the public health crisis, along with children experiencing homelessness and families involved in the child welfare system. This care should be provided immediately, and with as little red tape as possible.
• Provide premium pay, health care, access to testing and PPEs to child care providers that choose to remain open – at great personal risk - during this crisis.
• Direct ALL local department of social services across the State to pay providers participating in the child care subsidy program for March, April and May 2020 based on the number of children enrolled on March 1, regardless of attendance, and develop a fund to enable providers to apply for grants to cover lost private-pay tuition as our neighbor Vermont has done.

To read the full letter, click here.