Providers urge council to pair expansion with pay parity, stabilization and special‑education supports
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Summary
Community‑based providers, unions and advocates urged the council to fund pay parity, wage subsidies and contract reforms while warning that expansion without stabilization will close CBO classrooms and worsen special‑education access.
Dozens of community‑based providers, union leaders and advocacy groups told the council Thursday that New York’s planned expansion of early‑childhood seats must be paired with immediate investments to stabilize the workforce.
Robert Cordero, CEO of Grand Street Settlement, described universal child care as “a once in a lifetime opportunity” but warned it will fail unless nonprofit and family‑based providers can afford to operate. “Universal childcare will only succeed if it works for the community based and nonprofit providers who make it possible,” Cordero said during public testimony.
Multiple witnesses urged the council to enact pay parity between Department of Education teachers and CBO staff; provider testimony documented lifetime earning differentials and described staffing churn that has closed classrooms across the city. Labor economists and family‑care networks recommended a city wage‑subsidy or stabilization fund to preserve small programs and family child care networks that earn very low net rates after expenses.
Advocates also focused on children with disabilities: Betty Baez Melo of Advocates for Children said only about 63 percent of preschoolers with disabilities receive all mandated related services, and that many families wait ‘‘weeks and months’’ for evaluations or placements. DOE confirmed it had completed over 13,000 IEPs this year and reported roughly 3,400 more pending, and officials agreed to follow up with more specific special‑education data.
Providers outlined other operational barriers: slow clearance and fingerprint timelines, the absence of contract cost escalators, late payments and gaps in funding for facilities and rent. Family‑childcare advocates urged licensing supports, culturally responsive inspection practices and business assistance to help informal providers become licensed.
Speakers asked the council to use the FY27 budget to fund wage steps, health and retirement benefits, and immediate contract adjustments so that the system can retain current staff while scaling. The council requested written testimony and agency follow‑up on payments, clearances and the proposed cost estimates for a wage‑subsidy program.
