Promising programs exist, but must be expanded
NEW YORK, NY (April 15 2026) — The New York City Council’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education, chaired by Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, held its second-ever hearing today focused on the early childhood educator workforce development pipeline bringing together city agencies, CUNY leadership, and workforce experts to examine the state of the city’s child care staffing infrastructure as New York moves toward universal child care. The hearing was held jointly with the Committee on Higher Education, chaired by Council Member Rita Joseph, and the Committee on Workforce Development, chaired by Council Member Julie Won.
To meet projected future enrollment under a universal child care system, the workforce – currently between 33,000 and 40,000 – will need to double in size. As the city moves toward its fall expansion, administration testimony made clear that the near-term capacity may be covered, but a comprehensive multi-year staffing plan for the 2–6 year horizon does not yet exist. There is also no clear centralized data that reflects the true size of the workforce gap due to the complexities of the system.
“We heard about a lot of promising programs today — and that’s exciting,” said Council Member Gutiérrez. “But excitement has to be matched with a plan. Degrees in this field take up to six years to complete. Our classrooms require lead teachers with advanced credentials. The demand to become an early childhood educator is there but the pathways are too narrow, too expensive, and too fragmented. If we don’t map this out now for the next two to six years we will not have the workforce ready when we need it.”
“Today’s conversation made one thing clear: while we are making progress to meet near-term demand, New York City must take a more strategic, data-driven approach to building a sustainable pipeline for the years ahead. With the goal of universal childcare within reach, we are facing a workforce that will need to double in size, yet we still lack a comprehensive long-term staffing plan and clear data on the true scope of the gap. That is a challenge we cannot afford to ignore,” said Council Member Rita Joseph. As Chair of the Higher Education Committee, I remain deeply committed to ensuring that we are not only growing this workforce, but intentionally investing in pathways that guide students into education and early childhood education careers. This means strengthening our partnerships with CUNY, expanding access to training and credentialing programs, and supporting the next generation of educators who will shape our youngest learners. Our children deserve a strong foundation, and that begins with a well-supported, well-prepared workforce. I will continue working alongside my colleagues and partners to ensure we meet this moment with the urgency and vision it demands.”
“We cannot attract talent and grow the early childhood workforce, lower barriers to entry, improve retention, or support New York families if we continue to under-resource the programs that make this work possible,” said Council Member Julie Won. “The testimonies we heard today made one thing clear: agencies want to solve this problem, but they lack the resources and a clear, long-term plan. Alignment is not enough; the City must invest in this workforce and deliver a multi-year strategy to recruit, train, and retain the educators our children depend on.”
Testimony highlighted several active efforts to grow the pipeline. NYC Talent has cultivated a candidate pool of over 1,000 individuals, though a key challenge remains: not all candidates hold the age-specific certifications required for different classroom settings. A CUNY-based ECE apprenticeship pilot program drew 400 applicants for just 30 available slots. Scaling the pilot to 200 apprentices would require $3 million over three years, covering both apprentice support and employer partner costs. CUNY 2025 enrollment for their diverse ECE programs (including BA, MA, Associate, and certificates) was 3,516. Testimony also highlighted the drastic need for special education providers.
While Council Members celebrated the energy behind these programs, a recurring concern throughout the hearing was the absence of data-driven projections, specifically, multi-year models showing how many educators will be needed, at what credential levels, the types of providers needed, and on what timeline. Additional issues raised included a bottleneck of certification, credentialing, language access, and pay parity remains the largest unresolved issue and will be a key issue affecting retention.
Council Member Gutiérrez introduced Preconsidered Introduction Number T2026-1656, which would establish a child care workforce grant and services program to support educator recruitment, training, and retention citywide.
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Background: New York City’s child care workforce currently numbers between 33,000 and 40,000 — the vast majority of whom are women of color who earn less than 96% of all wages in the city. The sector is already experiencing severe structural pressure: a recent analysis found that, based on average turnover rates alone, the city needs to recruit at least 5,000 new educators every year. A survey of NYC child care programs found that 52% of centers report new teachers leaving within five years. Meanwhile, a sizable share of the existing workforce are experienced educators with over 20 years in the field are approaching retirement age.
Testimony was received from Emmy Liss, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Child Care; Donna Anderson, Executive Director of the NY Early Childhood Development Institute at CUNY; Ashleigh Thompson, CUNY Dean for Education; and Simon Hawkins, Deputy Chancellor for Early Childhood Education.