Policy and Advocacy
Join us in advocating for quality, affordable child care for all New York’s families.
Today, most young children in New York have no parent at home during the day. Families need
affordable, high-quality options. Child care providers need professional development and working
conditions that reflect the important work they do each day. The friends and family who provide care
need acknowledgement, support, and opportunities for growth.
Children who attend high-quality early childhood programs are healthier and perform better in school,
and, as adults, are more likely to own their own home. They’re less likely to smoke, abuse alcohol
and illegal drugs, engage in risk-taking behavior, and be arrested and incarcerated. Even parents
and their employers reap the advantages of high quality early childhood programs, as parents who
feel confident about their early childhood program are more productive employees.
There are over 119,000 child care providers in 22,000 businesses across New York State. Child care
services are responsible for generating $4.7 billion in our economy, and supports the employment of
over 750,000 parents.
But quality child care can be costly, and universal access is not yet achieved. That’s why we advocate
across New York State and in Washington, DC, to ensure that quality, affordable child care is available
for all New Yorkers.
Here, you can learn about our issues, find facts and figures on our resource pages, and begin to take
action.
Click on Winning Beginning NY (WBNY) and learn about this statewide coalition with over 60
member organizations from working to ensure access to child care, pre-K, afterschool and home
visiting programs for all of New York’s families. Join the WBNY e-advocacy list-serve and easily
contact State elected officials about a range of issues of concern to young children and their families.
Sign up to receive news and information and read a monthly article of interest written for us by a
member of the American Academy of Pediatrics on our Parent Central News and Action Center site.
This site is focused on the needs of parents, grandparents or anyone involved with raising and/or
caring for young children. An easy-to-use tool to immediately connect with lawmakers to express
your support for or opposition to budget initiatives, legislation or policies is also available through the
Parent Central News and Action Center.
Make a difference for New York’s families by taking action today!
Watch "It's Our Business" Video
Winning Beginning NY, the Committee on Economic Development, United Way of New York State, and America’s Edge have partnered on a new video, It’s Our Business: Why New York State Business Leaders Support Early Childhood Education - showcasing business leaders discussing the importance of early care and learning to our current and future workforce. Watch the video and share it, to help others understand that investments in early childhood have short and long-term economic benefits for our state, its families, and future workforce.
Watch "Brain Hero" Video
Following a two-year collaboration with the Interactive Media Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California to develop and test new ways of communicating the science of early childhood development, the Center on the Developing Child has released the collaboration’s first product, “Brain Hero.” The three-minute video depicts how actions by a range of people in the family and community can affect a child’s development. Based loosely on such games as "Guitar Hero," "SimCity," and "The Game of Life," the video adapts the visual sensibility of interactive game models to a video format and portrays how actions taken by parents, teachers, policymakers, and others can influence life outcomes for both the child and the surrounding community. Watch the video and share it with others.
This collaboration, now between the Harvard Center and USC’s newly launched Creative Media & Behavioral Health Center will continue joint work on the creation and dissemination of innovative storytelling products designed to inform the public discourse around policies and practices that support healthy brain development during childhood.