NEW YORK, NY (April 22, 2026) \u2014 Today, Council Member Jennifer Guti\u00e9rrez, Chair of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education, Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the Committee on Health, and Council Member Shakar Krishnan, Chair of the Committee on Oversight & Investigations, convened a joint oversight hearing to examine ongoing delays and systemic challenges in the child care background check process.<\/p>\n
As New York City prepares to expand early childhood education, the ability to efficiently clear child care workers could be a critical bottleneck to that growth.<\/p>\n
Under federal law, background checks must be completed within 45 days. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) reported a current median processing time of approximately 30 days, below the federal threshold, and highlighted significant improvements since the Council\u2019s last hearing on this topic in 2023. Those improvements include:<\/p>\n
Despite this progress, Council Members pressed agency officials on whether these gains are durable and scalable and questioned the 30-day timeline after hearing consistent conflicting information. At any given time, approximately 500 applications exceed the 45-day federal threshold, driven by application errors, interagency coordination challenges, and delays in receiving records from other states. This does not include other process requirements that may cause delays before the clock is started, like needing resignation documentation, not getting a response to email inquiries, and more. DOHMH noted it processes approximately 3,000 applications per month, with peaks of over 4,200 in September. <\/p>\n
Council Members raised pointed concerns about past and ongoing failures in the system, including:<\/p>\n
While the Administration reported that no provider has been told their delays in opening are attributable to the background check process, testimony from providers and advocates at the hearing painted a sometimes more complicated picture. <\/p>\n
\u201cEven if 5,000 qualified New Yorkers showed up tomorrow ready to work, our system is not yet built to process them at the speed this moment demands. We are hearing over and over again that this process can take months and it is still not clear what is required by law versus what is driven by agency policy,\u201d <\/em>said Chair Guti\u00e9rrez. <\/strong>\u201cWe can acknowledge the very real progress that has been made while still being honest about the gap. For providers on the ground, delays are not theoretical, they mean staff can\u2019t start, sites can\u2019t open, and families can\u2019t access care.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNew Yorkers want to work, and child care centers are ready to hire \u2014 but right now, background check delays are creating a bottleneck that is holding many providers back. Today\u2019s joint oversight hearing made clear that while these checks are essential for keeping children safe, and efforts have been made to make the system more efficient, transparent, and accountable, many approvals are still taking too long. When approvals are unnecessarily delayed, providers can\u2019t open classrooms and families are left without options. If we are serious about building a universal child care system, we have to fix these issues so care is not only safe, but affordable and accessible for every New Yorker,\u201d <\/em>said Chair Schulman. <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAs a parent of two young children, I know how important our city\u2019s childcare providers are for working families. They are critical to the function of this city\u2013 allowing parents to go to work knowing there are people taking care of their children like their own. But this trust only comes after rigorous background checks, screening of these workers, and trust that city agencies are doing this work fast and efficiently. I called this hearing with Council Members Lynn Schulman and Jennifer Guti\u00e9rrez to ensure that we are cutting through unnecessary government red tape and delivering on the promise to make childcare more affordable and available for all New Yorkers,”<\/em> said Chair Krishnan. <\/strong><\/p>\n ###<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NEW YORK, NY (April 22, 2026) \u2014 Today, Council Member Jennifer Guti\u00e9rrez, Chair of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education, Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the Committee on Health, and Council Member Shakar Krishnan, Chair of the Committee on Oversight & Investigations, convened a joint oversight hearing to examine ongoing delays and systemic challenges in the child care background check process.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n