Statement on the City Fiscal Year 2019 Executive Budget

Released April 27, 2018

For Immediate Release: April 27, 2018
Contact: Elysia Murphy, (212) 673-1800 x18 emurphy@cccnewyork.org

The Campaign for Children is extremely disappointed that the City Fiscal Year 2019 Executive Budget failed to make new investments to increase children’s access to high quality affordable child care, after-school and summer programming and once again proposes to cut after-school and summer programming.

Since the summer of 2015, the de Blasio administration has been annually threatening to cut $20.35 million for summer camp programming from 34,000 middle school students enrolled in the after-school programs his administration created. This money, or a portion of it, has been restored annually after negotiations with the City Council; however, this leaves parents and programs scrambling at the last minute and anxiety-ridden until budget adoption. Making New York City the fairest large city must mean ensuring low-income working parents do not spend the next 2 months anxiety- ridden and can instead be assured that their children are in safe, developmentally appropriate programs during the summer while they are at work. The budget dance for summer camp must come to an end and we must return to the original model of after-school programming where summer camp was a portion of the program because children who need care from 3-6 PM also need care in July and August.

While the administration may perceive the annual summer camp funding as part of a budget dance with the City Council, leaving this funding uncertain until the end of June when the program starts in July, will once again leave low-income working parents uncertain about how their children will be safe this summer. We strongly urge the administration to once again restore this cut by the May Youth Services Budget Hearing.

Making New York City the fairest large city must also mean that teachers doing the same job receive equal pay. Yet teachers in CBOs earn significantly less than their DOE peers, despite working additional hours. And the salary disparities grow over time: for example an MA certified teacher in a CBO earns $15,000 less (or 32%) in the first year of employment and the disparity grows to over $32,000 less than their DOE peers (or 66%) by 8 years of employment. We urge the administration to create salary parity between early childhood teachers in community-based organizations and DOE schools.

Finally, New York City children need increased access to early childhood education programs, after-school, and summer programs, not less. This budget would cut $16 million from 9,000 children in elementary after-school programs, as well as discretionary child care and child care vouchers. We urge the administration to work with the City Council to restore these programs, increase child care capacity for infants and toddlers and create a universal elementary after-school program.

ABOUT CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN: The Campaign for Children is a coalition of 150 early childhood education and after-school advocacy and provider organizations, including Citizens’ Committee for Children, Children’s Aid, United Neighborhood Houses, Good Shepherd Services, FPWA, the Day Care Council of New York, UJA-Federation of New York, and the YMCA of Greater New York. The Campaign’s successful advocacy saved child care and afterschool programs for more than 47,000 children by securing more than $120 million of one-year City Council discretionary funds for two consecutive years, which then were successfully baselined. The Campaign also advocated for the expansion of Universal Pre-K and middle school after-school programs in NYC, and saved summer programs for over 34,000 children.

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