Hochul, Mamdani Announce Free Child Care Expansion for New York

New York State will fund Mamdani’s plan for free child care for 2-year-olds in New York City and increase seats in the program for children aged 3 and up.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (R) and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attend a news conference at the headquarters of the NYPD in New York on Jan. 6, 2026. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was joined by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Jan. 8 to announce plans for expanding free and affordable child care in the state.

“Whether you live in Flatbush or upstate in the Finger Lakes, this is something every family can agree on: The cost of child care is too damn high!” said Hochul at the announcement Jan. 8 at the YMCA in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York.

The Democratic governor announced statewide expansion of the universal pre-kindergarten program started in New York City by former Mayor Bill de Blasio. The program, which is currently available to all New York City residents, provides instruction and child care for children aged four and up.

Hochul said the state will provide $470 million to fund 100,000 additional seats for pre-K, and expand to reach all children in New York state aged four and up by the 2028-2029 school year.

“For a long time, families have been crying out for help,” said Hochul. “I understand the urgency of this crisis because I lived it.”

Hochul described her own experience, decades ago, working at her dream job as a staffer on Capitol Hill for former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.).

She had to leave that job to take care of her young son because she couldn’t find affordable child care. Now her own son has a 3-year-old, she said, “and nothing has changed!”

“It is still one of the biggest expenses for our families, the cost of child care,” she said.

Hochul said the state will partner with Mamdani to expand the existing 3K program, which provides services for children aged 3 and up, to make it available to all New Yorkers. The program currently suffers from a mismatch between need and vacant seats—some school districts have waitlists while other districts have unfilled vacancies.

“Today, we take one step to realizing a city where every New Yorker, every family, every child can afford to keep calling it their home,” said Mamdani, who ran his campaign on the expansion of child care in New York City.

Hochul said the state will fund the first two years of the mayor’s plan to expand the program to 2-year-olds, called 2-Care.

Hochul is also establishing a statewide office to spearhead this expansion. The Office of Child Care and Early Education would be charged with driving the expansion of high-quality child care for New York families.

Hochul also announced a pilot program for child care for newborns to age 3 starting in 2026. She said the program will expand affordable, year-round, full-day care for thousands of families across the state in need of child care, regardless of income.

On Jan. 6, the federal government froze funding provided by the Department of Health and Human Services for child care programs in New York and four other states.

“Families who rely on child care and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said in a statement.

Federal officials said they’re freezing the funds because of concerns the benefits may have gone to ineligible people, among other possible fraud. The funds will remain frozen until HHS completes a review and determines that states are complying with federal requirements.

Speaking earlier on Jan. 6 at a press conference, Hochul alleged that the Trump administration targeted “blue state governors” and vowed to fight to get the funding restored.

HHS on Jan. 5 also rescinded child care rules, including a rule that mandated that states pay child care providers before care was provided, with O’Neill citing “widespread allegations of fraudulent daycare providers who were not caring for children at all” in Minnesota, one of the five states whose child care program funds are frozen.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.