SCHUMER DELIVERS $750,000 TO EXPAND ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE CHILDCARE FOR HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES IN BROOME COUNTY
Schumer Secured Fed Funding Will Allow Broome Urban League, United Way of Broome County, and Leadership Alliance To Directly Tackle Childcare Deserts In Greater Binghamton, Expanding Programs And Creating Up To 475 New Slots For Families In Need
Schumer: Investing In Children & Families Of Broome County Is Investing In The Future Of The Southern Tier
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced he has secured a major federal investment of $750,000 to expand access to affordable childcare to hundreds of children and underserved families in Broome County. Schumer said this funding will go directly to tackling childcare deserts in the Greater Binghamton area by helping the Broome County Urban League renovate their facilities and strengthen their programming to create up to 475 new slots for daycare, toddler, and afterschool childcare. The senator explained that access to affordable childcare is directly tied to the community’s workforce development, and that this major federal investment he secured will support hundreds of families and boost the local economy.
“Investing in Broome County’s children and families is investing in the future of the Southern Tier. I am proud to deliver this major $750,000 federal investment to expand access to affordable childcare for hundreds of families in the Greater Binghamton area,” said Senator Schumer. “Affordable childcare is essential for a region’s economy to grow. It strengthens the workforce, let’s people go back to school, and is vital to maintaining a high quality of life. Now thanks to the funding I secured, parents and children will have the support they need to build their life and future here in in the Southern Tier.”
“A lack affordable childcare doesn't just hurt families, but also makes it hard for companies to hire and retain workers and hinders our area's ability to attract new businesses," said Mayor Jared M. Kraham. "Thanks to Senator Schumer, The Leadership Alliance, the United Way and the Broome County Urban League for their work to expand access to childcare in the City of Binghamton.”
"A lack of access to childcare has been one of the biggest hurdles for parents - especially mothers - looking to return to the workforce. With the help of this funding secured by Senator Schumer, up to 475 Broome County families will no longer have to choose between working and caring for their children. At a time when businesses are struggling to fill positions, these childcare slots will be a huge boost to local workforce development efforts. Thank you to Senator Schumer for his ongoing support of Broome County,” said Broome County Executive Jason Garnar.
"We are grateful to Senator Schumer for securing critical federal funds that will add more than 400 much-needed childcare slots here in Broome County,” said NYS Senator Lea Webb. “We are still feeling the effects of the pandemic here in our community, when historic numbers of women were pushed out of the workforce to care for their children. Lack of access to affordable, high-quality childcare is one of the barriers keeping many caregivers from reentering the workforce. This investment in our community will increase the availability of childcare in our region and make it possible for more folks to get back to work.”
According to data from the Family Enrichment Network, over the past 10 years, Broome and Tioga Counties have seen a shutdown of nearly two thirds of their childcare programs. Across the Southern Tier, recent data from the NY Office of Children and Family Services estimates there are 76,774 children under the age of 11 years in the region; 20.9% are living below the federal poverty level. But there are only an estimated 475 regulated childcare programs in the region with a maximum capacity to serve 15,394 children (a mere 20% of the children residing in the region.)
Schumer explained that the new federal funding he secured will directly tackle these problems by strengthening the Broome County Urban League’s ongoing childcare programs and expanding their offerings for families. Currently, the Urban League serves about 200 children per year through their after-school and summer programs. But with the $750,000 Schumer secured, as well as their new partnership with the Leadership Alliance and the United Way of Broome County, the Urban League estimates it could add up to 475 additional childcare slots, more than doubling their capacity for daycare, toddler, and afterschool childcare.
Specifically, the funding will allow the Urban League to make renovations and capital improvements to the sites needed to expand their operations in Binghamton and Johnson City. The funding will also be used to provide tuition assistance to families struggling to pay for childcare and develop a training program for childcare staff to create intersectional workforce development and childcare programming for Broome County families. In addition to opening up more childcare spots, this would also allow them to provide childcare during non-traditional hours. Childcare services are needed to support professionals employed in industries that may require non-traditional work schedules such as manufacturing, healthcare, and education – all of which are major sources of employment in Broome County and the Southern Tier.
“Access to quality affordable childcare is inherently tied to our community’s workforce development efforts, and we thank Senator Chuck Schumer for advocating for our community’s growth. Employers have been reporting workforce shortages for years, however, it is impossible to fill those gaps when the infrastructure is not in place to support our workforce. When New York State is the sixth most expensive state for childcare, economically disadvantaged families are often at a loss for reliable, safe, and certified childcare options, and many times must turn down opportunities for training or employment that would otherwise improve their economic mobility,” said Leadership Alliance CEO, Stacey Duncan.
“With the potential of providing up to 475 children with certified and educational childcare programming, the Urban League is proud to be taking the steps in the right direction alongside such strong community partners to address one of our largest barriers to access and ascension within the workforce: childcare. Thank you to Senator Schumer for securing this funding for Broome County,” said President & CEO of the Urban League, Jennifer Lesko.
“The United Way recently completed a white paper on successful models for childcare which outlined a number of barriers to childcare access including not only the limited number of spots, but also high rates of employee turnover and open positions within the industry itself. With 17% of the Broome County workforce projected to age out in the next few years, and retirement already being a leading cause for the shutdown of local childcare providers, we are grateful for funding from Senator Schumer to be able to pursue this sustainable model of childcare that features this innovative training component to provide this critical resource to both our local families and our workforce,” said United Way Executive Director Paula Perna.
The $750,000 in federal funding was secured personally by Senator Schumer through congressionally directed spending in the end-of-year spending package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. The funding comes from two direct requests by Schumer: $600,000 through the Department of Health and Human Services- Administration for Children and Families to expand childcare services and $150,000 through the Department of Housing and Urban Development- Community Development Fund for physical renovations.
Senator Schumer has long history of boosting federal support to expand access to affordable childcare. In the American Rescue Plan, Schumer secured over $1.8 billion in stabilization grants and supplemental Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding for New York. Those relief dollars have been received by 15,465 childcare providers in the state, impacting up to 676,100 children thus far.
Like President Biden’s FY24 budget proposal, the Senator will continue to support greater investments in CCDBG in order to expand access to affordable, high-quality childcare for families across the state.
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