Access to quality affordable infant and toddler care is a fundamental economic justice issue for New York City families. By investing in this important service, the City will build financial security for families, a stronger sustainable workforce, and better outcomes for its youngest residents.

Nicole Frees is the owner of Ducklings ELC, Westtown. She is also a current Ducklings employee and mother of two young children.

1. Educated and Empowered Staff

Having an educated, skilled workforce is a cornerstone of economic development and a major factor in empowering families to achieve financial stability, says caterpillar care. However, many low-income women face barriers to pursuing gainful employment because of the responsibility to care for children. Addressing these constraints will improve women’s ability to participate in the labor market and increase their bargaining power within the family.

A significant portion of the population in West Town lives in informal settlements with limited access to child care and early learning. This has a ripple effect that affects the entire community, with women’s productivity at work affected due to time spent on household chores and childcare duties. This can lead to a lack of income, poverty, and instability for families.

The City’s recent data show that child care capacity is limited, particularly for infants and toddlers in the most disadvantaged communities. In Tottenville, Great Kills, and Annadale in Staten Island, there are only enough spaces to serve four percent of children under two, and in Bushwick and Woodside in Brooklyn, fewer than five percent.

Child care providers can be hesitant to expand their programs into the smallest age groups, because of the costs associated with training, credentialing, and staffing. NYC Under 3 will establish new funding to help these providers overcome these barriers. Start-up grants will support the initial costs of meeting health and safety requirements, such as two means of egress, proper railings on stairs, and age-appropriate play equipment.

Caregivers will receive training on best practices in early childhood development (ECD) and will be provided with tools to implement these approaches in their child care centers. In addition, a micro-franchising program will be launched with “mamapreneurs,” local women who run informal childcare centers in the community. By providing these mamapreneurs with a business-in-a-box, including a curriculum, resources, and training materials, they will be empowered to develop their businesses into high-quality ECD hubs that are accessible to more children in the community.

To understand the impacts of these interventions, data collection is underway with caregivers, center care providers, and communities. This data will help inform what additional investments are needed to expand child care capacity and ensure quality.

2. Healthy Environment

Ideally located on Route 202, the vibrant main artery of Chester County, Ducklings Westtown is just minutes from Downtown West Chester, an area renowned for its excellent shopping and dining. With West Chester University nearby and an area consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the United States, Ducklings is the ideal location for children to grow and thrive.

Increasing child care capacity and improving the quality of existing child care is critical to supporting families. The City’s NYC Under 3 plan includes a commitment of $500 million in capital funding over the next five years to construct, preserve, and renovate child care space for infants and toddlers. Funding would be targeted to family and center-based providers that demonstrate a plan to increase capacity, and with priority given to those serving neighborhoods with high concentrations of income-eligible families and limited child care options.

Recent research, including the Sinai Community Health Survey 2.0 conducted in West-West Town and Humboldt Park, shows that residents of these communities face many barriers to achieving optimal health, and this is exacerbated by the lack of child care options available.

3. Healthy Children

In the early years, children’s health and wellbeing are critical to their school readiness. They need to be healthy enough to learn, and their families need support to keep them well. To achieve this goal, the City must invest in a sustainable and affordable child care system that provides economic security for working parents and dignity for child care workers.

In New York City, child care costs are a major barrier to affordability for families with low or moderate incomes. For a family earning two minimum wage salaries, the cost of child care would take more than one-sixth of their annual income. For many families, this leaves few child care options that they can afford without risking access to other basic needs like housing, food, and health care.

The City’s child care system also struggles to maintain adequate capacity for infants and toddlers. In 11 communities, there are more than ten times as many infants as available child care spaces. This gap is most severe in Tottenville, Great Kills, and Annadale in Staten Island, Bushwick and Sunnyside in Brooklyn, and Woodside in Queens.

To increase child care capacity, the City should lower family contributions toward child care costs and extend childcare assistance to families up to 400 percent of poverty. It should also prioritize the construction of new and renovation of existing space, as well as proactively identify vacant and underused spaces for potential development.

The City also should invest in the health of its children and their parents by expanding community-based health services to support parenting and preventative healthcare. It should also increase the pay and benefits for child care providers to attract skilled professionals into the field. Finally, it should expand opportunities for families to participate in healthy eating and active living initiatives in their neighborhoods. This will help them develop a lifelong habit of healthy eating and physical activity that will improve their child’s health and academic outcomes. These investments will create a more equitable and just City for all its residents, especially the most vulnerable. This article was written by Nicole Frees, who is the proud owner of Ducklings ELC, Westtown. She is a former employee, current parent (two Ducklings enrolled) and educational leader with a doctorate in Educational Leadership.

4. Healthy Families

The community’s health depends on healthy families, and quality child care is essential for family stability. As a result, the City should work to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to affordable child care and that child care workers receive living wages. NYC Under 3 would make significant investments to achieve these goals. These investments include lowering family contributions and extending assistance to working families with income up to 400 percent of poverty, dedicating funding for start-up grants to increase capacity in licensed settings and creating a fund to expand access to training and professional development opportunities, and establishing wage standards to link attainment of credentials to salary increases.

The West-West Town neighborhood, formally known as East Humboldt Park, is a diverse neighborhood that has experienced demographic transition and gentrification in recent decades. While some residents have benefited from the economic investment, others continue to face barriers to optimal health. For example, a recent Sinai Survey 2.0 showed that 30% of West-West Town households were food insecure in the past year. In addition, 17% of adults experienced current symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. This is double the national average of 7%.

Nicole Frees, the owner of Ducklings ELC, Westtown in Chester County, is a former Ducklings employee and current parent (with two “ducks” enrolled). She is also an educational leader with a doctorate in Educational Leadership, a Master’s Degree in Special Education, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.

Her commitment to providing the best child care experience for children and parents led her to open Ducklings. Located on Route 202, the heart of the Chester County business community, Ducklings is uniquely situated to offer the convenience and high-quality child care that local families value. The center is surrounded by businesses, restaurants, and cultural attractions and is an easy commute from both downtown West Chester and Philadelphia. It is an ideal location for families who want a strong education and a safe, enriching environment for their children. The center’s staff reflects this same commitment to excellence, working together to support children and their families.