Director Chafee on child care voucher shortfall and CityFHEPS funding
Chafee reports 110,000 children receive child care vouchers with 25,000 on a waitlist since the portal closed in June 2025. She estimates the city needs $78 million more in 2027, rising to nearly $1 billion in 2028, and notes the state set up a separate housing voucher program yielding $33 million for about 900-1,100 vouchers.
Meanwhile, IBO notes that the administration's assumptions that it can achieve $149 million in annual savings in the area of due process cases also remains untested.
New York City provides means-tested child care vouchers.
Generally, services are accessed through a portal.
Currently, close to 110,000 children
receive such vouchers, and there are over 25,000 children on the wait list because the portal has been closed since June of 2025.
The executive budget contains an unexpected fiscal shortfall as funding drops from $1.8 billion in 2026 to $818 million annually starting in 2028.
IBO estimates the city needs an additional $78 million in 2027, rising to almost $1 billion annually in 2028 to address this shortfall.
And if the portal were to be reopened or the waitlist addressed, even more funds would be needed.
The state...
Did not provide any funds for the City FEPS program, but instead set up its own separate housing voucher access program, which will yield about $33 million
in funding for the city and support approximately 900 to 1,100 vouchers.
This is a year-to-year program.
IBO does not expect the administration to reduce CityFAPS funding as a result of this new state program.
And as a reminder, CityFAPS is budgeted at $2 billion, and the executive budget reflects a plan to achieve $235 million annually in unspecified administrative streamlining.