Child care is a pivotal part of our communities across New York. Across New York State, so many families face child care challenges. So many providers face challenges providing care to the families that need child care to work. They also face challenges getting paid. It is these stories that we are highlighting in the third New York: A Child Care State of Mind storybook. 

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Why are storybooks important? 

In collaboration with the Empire State Campaign for Child Care, we have compiled this storybook to put human faces and personal experiences to the numbers. Because we know that statistics tell part of the story, but personal experiences move hearts and change policies. 

Every family in New York has a child care story.

For some, it’s the panic of sitting at the kitchen table figuring out how they’re going to make every dollar stretch. Some are forced to recalculate monthly expenses, realizing child care costs more than their rent, mortgage or college tuition. 

For others, it’s realizing that they won’t qualify for child care assistance, or that they are on a waitlist. There are others who have to turn down a job promotion or leave the workforce altogether because a local day care has a waiting list, or has to close their doors due to insufficient staffing. 

For child care providers, it’s the daily struggle of pouring their time, energy and hearts into nurturing our youngest learners while barely earning enough to support their own families.

This storybook brings together parent and child care provider voices from across New York State—from way up north in Rochester to Long Island and everywhere in between. Some highlights include: 

I have a two year old daughter who was in a locally owned child care facility until May 2026. Her monthly tuition already cost more than our mortgage, and tuition was increased further, making it unsustainable for her to stay there. Thankfully, we’ve found part time in home care, but I’ve had to reduce my hours to make everything work. The cost of childcare is unsustainable, and it is still rising.  L.,  Rochester

I am a child care provider struggling to stay open. The pay is not enough for the critical work we do, and there are no benefits like health insurance, paid time off, or retirement. Operating costs continue to rise, but families cannot afford higher tuition, leaving providers in an unsustainable position. Many of us love this work, but low wages and lack of support are forcing providers to leave the field. Child care is essential, and providers deserve fair pay and benefits to survive. - Dianne, St. Albans

What You’ll Find In this Storybook 

Some of the themes these stories highlight are: 

Exorbitant Costs vs. Living Expenses: Child care tuition routinely rivals or exceeds major household expenses, such as monthly mortgage or rent payments, pushing family budgets to a breaking point.

Forced Career & Hours Reductions: High costs and a lack of open slots force parents—disproportionately moms—to reduce their working hours, pass up promotions, or leave the workforce entirely to fill care gaps.

Severe Shortages & Waitlists: Long waitlists and a lack of local options create a pervasive crisis of availability, leaving families stranded for months or years after searching for care.

The Provider & Workforce Crisis: Early childhood educators face unsustainably low wages and lack adequate benefits, leading to high turnover and program closures despite high demand.

Economic Ripple Effects: Unaffordable and inaccessible child care directly destabilizes local economies by limiting workforce participation and lowering family spending power.

The child care reality is not complicated: Parents cannot work without childcare. They are put in impossible situations having to make tough decisions about their livelihoods.

 Early childcare providers cannot continue to provide care in a profession they love if they cannot support their own families with the poverty wages they make. Some are forced to leave the profession all together. 

It’s not that parents aren’t working hard enough to afford child care, and the issue is not that child care providers don’t work hard enough—  it is that the whole system is not working for anyone – it is failing families and workers. These stories prove it. 

My afterschool program is now more like $7000/year and we have to do it because we both need to work. - Kara, Astoria

Yes, strides have been made in child care in New York, but there is still much to be done. When families can’t find or afford care, parents can’t work, businesses suffer, and children miss out on critical early learning opportunities– and that hurts New York families, communities and businesses. 

This storybook serves as a powerful advocacy tool. We are placing these personal accounts directly into the hands of New York lawmakers and state leaders to show them exactly what is at stake. Policy decisions aren't abstract—they affect real parents, real children, and real communities every single day.

How You Can Take Action Today

Real change happens when we raise our voices together. Here’s how you can help amplify the stories in this book and help us grow the MOMentum for child care in New York! 

1. Read & Share: Read and share the New York child care storybook with your friends, family, and networks on social media. 

2. Tell Your Own Story: Are you struggling with child care costs or availability in NY? Share your story with MomsRising here so we can continue sharing your family’s experiences directly to lawmakers. 

3. Contact Your State Representatives: Urge your New York State Assembly members and Senators to prioritize funding for child care, invest more in CCAP, clear the waitlists, invest in living and thriving wages for child care educators, and support to increase access to quality child care for working families across the state. 

Together, we can build a New York where every child has access to quality early education and every family has the support they need to thrive.