Mayor Adams, Chancellor Aviles-Ramos Announce Open Enrollment for Birth-to-2 Child Care Initiative

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos today opened enrollment for the “Birth-to-2 Child Care Initiative,” a groundbreaking, city-funded, early childhood education initiative that will provide more than 200 infant and toddler seats across 16 community-based provider sites at zero cost to families. Mayor Adams announced this initiative in April 2025, and further supports the Adams administration’s broader $167-million investment to support early education for young children and their families. This initiative also builds on New York City Public Schools’ existing infant and toddler programs — strengthening the city’s early childhood system and reflecting a long-term commitment to supporting families with young children. The Birth-to-2 Child Care Initiative expands access to high-quality care and early learning for infants and toddlers aged six weeks to two years in neighborhoods with the greatest need. Programs are in communities identified through a data-driven analysis of family economic need and child care access, with locations in the Bronx, Central Brooklyn, Upper Manhattan, and Southeast Queens.

“With the launch of the ‘Birth-to-2 Child Care Initiative,’ we are making a powerful statement about what matters in New York City: our children, our families, and their future,” said Mayor Adams. “Today’s investment ensures that infants and toddlers in the communities with the greatest need have access to high-quality early learning from the very start — at no cost to families. By expanding access to care for children as young as six weeks old, we’re giving our youngest New Yorkers the strong foundation they deserve, and making life more affordable and easier for parents to provide for their families without having to choose between a paycheck and child care. This is what it looks like when a city invests boldly and unapologetically in its people and prioritizes making our home the best place to live and raise a family.”

“This initiative marks a new chapter for early childhood education in New York City,” said New York City Public Schools Chancellor Aviles-Ramos. “Quality early childhood education gives our youngest learners the strongest possible start, and I am proud to be able to bring these programs to more families across our city. I am grateful to our Division of Early Childhood Education, which worked tirelessly to bring this initiative from concept to reality – analyzing data, partnering with providers, and ensuring we’re reaching the families who will benefit most.”

There are no income eligibility requirements for the Birth-to-2 Child Care Initiative, and the initiative prioritizes families in communities that have historically faced barriers to affordable child care. Families with children ages six weeks to two years who live in or near the identified providers’ communities can enroll now by contacting service providers. Services will begin on January 5, 2026.

 The following are the providers for the Birth-to-2 Child Care Initiative:

A thriving early childhood education system is crucial to making New York City more affordable, particularly for women and families. The Adams administration’s child care blueprint found that nearly 375,000 parents left or downshifted their jobs due to COVID-19 and a lack of access to quality child care. For mothers, the decision to leave the workforce to care for a child can cost up to $145,000 in foregone earnings over their lifetime. That is why the Adams administration is prioritizing early childhood programs that works for the long term and has seen results in terms of access and affordability.

Mayor Adams’ commitment to investing in education for New York City children is also reflected in the $115.9 billion Adopted Budget earlier this year, which built on the Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget, often called the “Best Budget Ever.” This year’s budget included support for programming and additional staffing related to Mayor Adams' "After-School for All" expansion in New York City; funding distribution, maintenance, and wireless service costs through the end of 2025 for the purchase of 350,000 Chromebooks for New York City public school students; funding for Summer Rising academic and enrichment programming; and expanding the Pathways program to provide career readiness opportunities for students at New York City Public Schools.

Over the last four years, the Adams administration has been focused on making New York City more affordable for families through popular and essential programs like early childhood education. Earlier this year, Mayor Adams announced a new pilot program, “Creating Real Impact at Birth” (CRIB), to connect and prioritize pregnant New Yorkers applying for shelter with housing vouchers to put them on a path toward permanent housing and stability, so that no child is born into the shelter system, as well as a $7 million expansion of the “Fatherhood Initiative,” which helps fathers reconnect with their children, provide financial support, and develop parenting skills. Additionally, the Adams administration enrolled a record 150,000 children across the early childhood education system. These initiatives all build on Mayor Adams’ efforts that have reduced out-of-pocket costs for child care from $55 per week in 2022 to less than $5 per week with subsidies today for a family of four. Further, the administration met its commitment to offer a seat to every child who applied for 3-K on time last school year — the first time this has ever been done in the city’s history. Finally, the Adams administration invested an additional $20 million to ensure that every student on a 3-K waitlist was offered a seat this year, as well as $55 million to provide more than 700 new seats for three- and four-year-olds with special needs.

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