Lara Kyriakou testifies on family child care and continuity of care

Hello.

Good afternoon, Chair Gutierrez, members of the esteemed committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

And in my written testimony, we'll have more details on policy recommendations, including the importance of payment rates that reflect the true cost of care and the dire need for health insurance and retirement benefits for all family child care educators.

I'm Lara Kiriakou, the Senior Director of Policy at All Our Kin, a national organization

that provides educational mentorship, professional development, and systems building expertise to family child care educators and stakeholders.

In New York City, we offer bilingual services of licensing coaching, business training, and educational coaching.

And I would also like to thank Councilmember Brewer for attending our graduation earlier this summer.

That was the event that you mentioned earlier today that was graciously funded by the Robin Hood Foundation.

Families who prefer family child care programs often speak a feeling as though their child has a home away from home and deeply value the long-term bonds and connections that educators develop with children and their families, often across multiple generations.

We're encouraged by the historic commitments from Mayor Mumdani and Governor Hochul to expand access and capacity, including this week's announcement of additional funding for 10,000 children from the wait list.

As the city continues to roll out the 2K program, it is critical to ensure that family child care educators are included in the solutions.

Educators continue to have a lot of questions about the 2K implementation and uncertainty if they have the opportunity to participate and whether they will be able to afford to run their program if they are unable to offer 2K seats.

At the moment, only about 20% of all family child care programs are part of a DOE network.

Of the approximately 80% of family child care educators who are independent, many cite the desire to control their own enrollment as a key motivator for this decision.

Others also cite concerns about contract transparency and consistency across networks and payment delays as further reasons to

remain independent.

City leaders have expressed a commitment to a more inclusive system and we look forward to continuing to work with them closely to support equitable engagement of these educators.

If I could just say one more sentence.

Everyone has an extra 60 seconds apparently.

I just wanted to also highlight that child development research tells us that continuity of care is incredibly important for children, especially the youngest children.

And rather than separate programs by single ages, funding streams must be prepared to support children's care in one setting throughout the early years of life.

This allows children the opportunity to benefit from consistent and responsive relationships with early caregivers, which is one of the key markers of a high-quality learning environment.

For parents who prefer family child care, they often speak of the close connections with educators that they and their children develop.

And without a continuum of care built into funding models, the system risks undermining one of the most unique and valued qualities of family child care.

We greatly appreciate for today's opportunity and remain available to provide any other additional information.

Thank you.

I'm glad.

I'm glad you took your time.

That was an excellent closing point.

My daughter's providers are my family now, I tell them.

Yes.

That's wonderful.

Thank you.