Allison Liu testifies on universal child care and family impact
Allison Liu, senior organizer with New Yorkers United for Child Care, shares stories of families struggling with child care costs, including one who could afford a second child after 2K. She urges expansion and fair wages for workers.
Good afternoon.
My name is Allison Liu, and I am a senior organizer for New Yorkers United for Child Care and a Brooklyn mom to a five-year-old who is a proud grad of Universal 3K and Pre-K.
Yay!
Yay.
New Yorkers United for Child Care organizes parents and would-be parents across the city to fight for free universal child care from birth to five, full day, full year, in every neighborhood.
Watching the landscape of child care evolve in New York City over the last few years has been absolutely amazing.
Two years ago, I and other parents were fighting to protect 3K and pre-K from cuts.
Now New York City has become a pioneering city, offering free universal child care from the age of two upwards.
I am so grateful to the members of the City Council, Mayor Mom Donnie, and Governor Hochul for partnering with us to make New York City a place where families with young kids can thrive.
While we have made big strides in providing access to free child care for parents across the city,
Child care costs are still a crisis for too many New Yorkers.
Folks with kids under the age of three, that's when it's hardest for families to find and afford care.
Full-time care for a two-year-old in the city runs an average of $26,000 a year, which is a rent or a mortgage.
A report from the Citizens Committee for Children earlier this year estimated that 90% of New York families with young kids can't afford care, which is an increase from just two years ago.
The New York City Comptroller has also estimated that a family needs to make $334,000 a year to afford child care for just one kid, putting the cost of this essential service out of reach for most families in New York.
As an organizer, I talk with parents who are struggling with steep child care costs every day.
Free universal child care for two-year-olds has been nothing short of life-changing for the parents we're in touch with.
I'll share just one story of the many I've heard.
Before 2K, one of our Bushwick parent leaders, Nancy Keith, didn't think she could afford to have a second child because of the high cost of child care.
After 2K was announced, she and her family were so elated.
She is now almost 30 weeks pregnant with her second child.
Her dream family is coming true for her.
My family also wants to have another kid here in New York City, but we don't know if we can afford it.
Before my son turned three and got 3K, we had to go into debt to pay for his care.
At one point, we decided to forego our own health insurance to pay for his child care because we weren't able to take on the additional debt.
No parent should make...
should have to make a choice like this.
Sorry.
We were able to get out of debt and pay for health insurance when my son entered 3K.
When we learned that we got the free seat we wanted, it was almost a physical relief that we felt lift off of our shoulders.
I want everyone to feel that relief earlier than year three.
Thank you, Melissa.
The memory of that time.
Oh, sorry.
No, you can wrap it up.
I'm sorry.
The memory of that time has stayed with me.
If we knew we could count on free 2K, it would make it easier for us to consider a second child.
But we don't know if 2K will be here in a few years.
It breaks my heart to tell my son that I don't know if he'll get the baby brother or sister that he's been asking for.
Every week I hear from families who are making tough decisions just like me in order to raise kids here.
The questions we all ask sound like, can I afford to pay rent and child care bills this month?
Will I be able to afford care for my toddler and my senior parents?
Sorry.
Will I ever be able to pay down my credit card debt if my kid's summer care costs $3,000 a month?
Many of these families are leaving the city because they just can't make the child care cost math work anymore.
Families need to know they can depend on 2K.
I would also like to add that families know that our child care workers are absolutely essential, and we want our care workers to be paid a living wage.
Let's make sure we can make this happen for all New York families as soon as we can while also taking care of our workers.
Thank you.
Thank you.