Provides that a social services district may implement an income eligibility standard for recipients of child care block grant funds when such district projects that allocated funds will be insufficient to open all eligible non-guaranteed cases; sets the income eligibility standards.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10520
SPONSOR: Maher TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to directing local
social services districts to implement an income eligibility standard
when available child care block grant funding is nearing exhaustion
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would allow local social services districts the option to
implement an eligibility standard for New York State Child Care Block
Grant if such local social service districts will not have enough funds
to provide to all eligible applicants.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one permits local social services districts to implement an
eligibility standard for recipients of funding provided by the office of
children and family services through the New York State Child Care Block
Grant if such local social services districts are projected to have
insufficient funds to provide New York State Child Care Block Grant
funds to all eligible recipients. The eligibility standard will be
limited to recipients who are at or below 300 percent of the federal
poverty level for the first month following insufficient funds, 250
percent of the federal poverty level for the second month, and may be
decreased by an additional 25 percent each following month until reach-
ing 175 percent federal poverty level.
Section two establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Earlier in 2025, the New York City local social services district and
several upstate districts warned that available child care assistance
funds were being rapidly depleted. In response, the Fiscal Year 2026
Enacted Budget included an additional $413 million for the New York
State Child Care Block Grant, including $350 million for the New York
City local social services district and $50 million for local social
services districts in the rest of the state. Despite this infusion,
funding levels have remained insufficient to keep child care assistance
applications open across all local social services districts statewide.
As a result, by late 2025, 31 of the 58 local social services districts
in New York State-including the New York City local social services
district and numerous upstate districts-had stopped accepting new case
openings for the Child Care Assistance Program funded through the New
York State Child Care Block Grant.
This legislation would allow local social services districts the option
to implement an emergency eligibility standard to ensure that the needi-
est families receive child care assistance. Currently, this child care
assistance is delivered on a first come, first served basis and could
potentially leave the neediest families without assistance.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
