Council raises questions on provider payment delays, workforce readiness, and plans to bring 2-K to Staten Island

NEW YORK, NY (October 7, 2026) – Today, the New York City Council’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education, chaired by Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, held an oversight hearing on the first year of 2-K, the City’s free child care program for two-year-olds. 

Chair Gutiérrez and other Members posed questions to Emmy Liss, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Child Care, and Erica Phillips, Deputy Chancellor of the Division of Early Childhood Education at New York City Public Schools, on how neighborhoods and providers were selected, the target take-up rate when the program is fully implemented, how seat rates were set, and how the Administration plans to expand to Staten Island and beyond. 

Ms. Liss and Deputy Chancellor Phillips told the Council that growing 2-K from 2,000 seats this year to 12,000 in 2027-2028 will require increasing funding from $73 million to $425 million in Fiscal Year 2028, as committed by Governor Kathy Hochul. Demand is strong: 5,707 families applied in the first round, and 2,018 received offers.

But funding alone will not be enough. Hundreds of providers across the system still lacked registered contracts when school began on September 15, and the Administration has not said how many are 2-K providers. Members also pressed on workforce shortages and wage gaps between community-based providers and DOE teachers. In response, Deputy Chancellor Phillips announced that NYC Public Schools will hire 228 additional employees, some dedicated to speeding up contract registration.

Council Members also raised multiple questions about how and when 2-K will expand into Staten Island, which has no 2-K seats this year but will have seats next year, and about how neighborhoods are selected, how seat rates were set, and continuity of care from 2-K to 3-K.

“I absolutely want the City’s first 2-K program to be successful. And I’m not the only one; parents, providers, and early childhood education advocates know the value of access to quality universal childcare programs. I am encouraged by this administration’s standout commitment to getting this right – they are tasked with fixing a broken system: one characterized by historical late payments, a teacher shortage, and a desperate need for wage equity,” said Council Member Gutiérrez.

Background: Center-based care for infants and toddlers averaged $26,000 per year in 2024, up 43% since 2019. DOE paid only 66% of the contracted value of its ECE contracts in Fiscal 2025, in part due to vacancies and payment delays.