Parents’ familiarity with existing programs varies by language, race and ethnicity, and income. Par- ents speaking Spanish or another language other than English report significantly lower awareness than English-speaking parents for nearly every program included in the survey, with gaps ranging from roughly 10 to 20 percentage points, and reaching as high as 24 points for Head Start/Early Head Start. Hispanic and AAPI parents also report lower awareness of most programs, which may be driven in part by gaps in language access. Parents with lower incomes were less aware on average of non-means- tested programs, including 3-K and Pre-K. As shown in Figure 12, more than four in ten (43 percent) parents living below 100 percent of FPL are not familiar with the State’s paid family leave program, compared to 12 percent of the highest-income parents. Together, these findings point toward opportu- nities for the City to prioritize public outreach and education. Share of Parents Unaware of Existing Government Benefits, by Program and Income Figure 12
< 100% FPL 100-199% FPL 200% FPL - 85% SMI
> 85% SMI
34%
38%
Early Head Start/Head Start
36%
39%
29%
28%
Child Care Assistance Program
37%
49%
51%
57%
Subsidy for FFN care
55%
67%
42% 42%
Early Intervention
34%
39%
25% 25%
3-K
20%
10%
14%
16%
Pre-K
9%
7%
57%
54%
Empire State Child Credit
53%
63%
43%
New York State Paid Family Leave
32%
16%
12%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Source: Survey of 4,306 parents and caregivers of children ages 0-5 living in New York City; conducted by NORC for New America’s New Practice Lab and Robin Hood, March 31-April 20, 2026. Note: “Child care vouchers” reflects parents who selected the response option “Child care vouchers/Child Care Assistance Program.” “Subsidy for FFN care” reflects parents who selected the response option “Subsidy for friend, family neighbor care/legally exempt child care.”
THE 2026 NEW YORK CITY PARENT SURVEY : WHAT CHILD CARE PARENTS WANT 26
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