The budget’s still not here… guess it’s not an April Fools’ joke!

Hi Ashley,   Today is our state budget’s due date, but there is no budget. The governor has sent a budget extender to the legislature to pass that to keep the state operating until Thursday. Our child care system is still in crisis. Click through to hear Marina's budget update. Thousands of children and families will not have child care assistance if the final budget doesn’t include a significant amount of funding. Yet, the Governor is pushing policy unrelated to the budget instead of addressing the dire needs of our working families and child care workforce.   To bring you the latest from the state Capitol, watch this urgent update from our Co-Executive Director, Marina Marcou-O’Malley on where things stand why we can’t afford to stop pushing.   Now it’s time for action. As New York’s first mom governor, we need her to hear loud and clear that child care and equitable school funding are non-negotiables for New Yorkers: Action 1 Child Care The Governor’s executive budget included no additional support for CCAP or a permanent Child Care Workforce Retention Grant, leaving families and workers looking at a more vulnerable year ahead. It’s clear - child care must be a top priority. Reach out to state leaders demanding their prioritization of child care in the final enacted budget Action 2 Foundation Aid While child care is our top priority as it is a crisis, getting Foundation Aid revisions right continues to be of the utmost importance. The Governor’s executive budget ignored the Rockefeller Institute’s recommendation to update the Regional Cost Index (RCI), which could effectively leave numerous high-need districts like New York City with less funding than they’d been bargaining on. In contrast, the Assembly and Senate have proposed raising the RCI. Join us and CEEF tomorrow from 5-6pm for a phone zap for Foundation Aid, to make sure our schools and students aren’t forgotten Action 3 Revenues The governor has been maintaining totally insufficient funding of our child care system and reluctant revising of the funding mechanism for our public schools, while adamantly refusing to implement any revenue raising options from the ultra-wealthy. Protecting billionaires before kids seems to be the governor’s preference. Use this social media toolkit from our friends at Citizen Action/IONY to remind Governor Hochul that it's time for the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share AQENY.org | Bluesky | Instagram | Facebook DONATE

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One day until the budget deadline — take 3 actions for child care today!

Hi Ashley,   Time is running out—we have just one day left until the budget deadline. We need to keep the pressure on state legislators to secure at least $500 million in funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (also known as CCAP, or child care vouchers), and $500 million for New York’s child care workforce,  a total of $1 billion over what the Governor proposed, in the enacted budget.   Without additional funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP, also known as child care vouchers) in this year’s state budget, thousands of families stand to lose access to child care assistance, and 60,000 children could lose care. To add to the damage, the loss of assistance for families means that child care providers will be left scrambling to fill seats vacated by long-time families forced to withdraw.   Tell state leaders: New York’s families are counting on them to include $1 billion over the executive budget proposal — with $500 million for CCAP and 500 for the workforce —  in the enacted budget. Use the toolkit below to take three actions now! Action 1 Email State Leaders & Your State Legislators Take a moment to email Governor Hochul, legislative leaders, and your state representatives. Tell them New York’s families are counting on them to include no less than $500 million each for the state’s Child Care Assistance Program and a workforce retention grant, a total of $1 billion over what the governor proposed, in the final budget. SEND AN EMAIL NOW Action 2 Call the Senate Majority Leader & Speaker Scroll down to view sample call scripts (you can click and hold the images to save them to your device). Then dial the numbers below to call  Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, then Speaker Carl Heastie. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins 518-455-2585 Speaker Carl Heastie 518-455-3791 Action 3 Amplify on social media Call out Governor Hochul publicly on social media, and thank the Senate and Assembly for supporting New York's child care educators and families. Use the sample posts below. And remember to follow AQE @aqeny.bsky.social and the hashtag #FundChildCareNY on Bluesky to see what's happening in real time.   (A reminder that AQE is over at Bluesky now. If you haven't set up your own account yet, you can do that here.) Thank you @nysenate.bsky.social & @nyassemblymajority.bsky.social for including child care  in your budget proposals. We need $1b over the exec budget - with $500m for CCAP and $500m for the workforce. Let's make it happen in the final budget! #FundChildCareNY   With budget decisions looming, NY needs investments in child care vouchers & workforce. @governor.ny.gov, it's time to prioritize our working families & educators! Follow the lead of @nysenate.bsky.social & @nyassemblymajority.bsky.social and #FundChildCareNY   @governor.ny.gov, don't leave NY's working families & child care educators behind. Invest in our future, #FundChildCareNY! https://actionnetwork.org/letters/gov-hochul-legislators-must-act-now-so-nys-families-dont-lose-child-care-assistance AQENY.org | Bluesky | Instagram | Facebook DONATE

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