Thousands of Toddlers Homeless in NY, Thousands of Free Child Care Seats Empty

Some 9,000 children no older than six years are homeless in New York City. Meanwhile thousands of city-paid child care spots are empty.

Mark and Galina Turner, and their son, Nareem, 18 months, arrive at the city's intake center for homeless families in the Bronx borough of New York, Friday March 6, 2009. The family expects help from the city to find a home after their recent eviction from an apartment, unable to pay rent from Galina's salary as a security guard. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

Some 9,000 children six years old and younger are homeless in New York City, states a report by the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs (CNYCA), released Wednesday. Meanwhile thousands of city-paid child care spots are empty.

The report shows 20,000 children are housed in the city’s homeless shelters. Almost half of them are under six years old and the number grew by 60 percent since 2006.

The problem hits black children from low-income families particularly hard, with more than one in five ending up in a shelter at some point before reaching the age of five.

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