Bill > A05084

This bill requires social services districts in New York to maintain a detailed waiting list for families seeking child care assistance and to provide comprehensive annual reporting to the Office of Children and Family Services. Specifically, the districts must track information about eligible families who have applied for but not yet received child care assistance, including the date of request, child ages, and wait times. The waiting list will include families with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level who cannot receive immediate assistance due to funding limitations. Districts must submit an annual report by October 15th starting in 2026, detailing waiting list characteristics such as average wait times, children's age groups, number of available child care slots, and a breakdown of family incomes. The bill also mandates collecting and reporting data on families who applied for and received or were denied child care assistance, categorized by income levels. The Office of Children and Family Services will compile these district reports into a comprehensive report to be distributed to state government leaders by December 1st each year, starting in 2026. The bill takes effect on October 1, 2025, and does not require retroactive data collection for applications before that date.

Education

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A5084