POLICY IMPLICATIONS Parents’ child care experiences and preferences make clear that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenge of finding high-quality, affordable child care in New York City. Their preferred arrange- ments also change as children grow, underscoring the need for policies and programs that can ac- commodate different schedules, settings, and family circumstances. These findings point to several considerations for the City as it builds toward universal child care. 1. Make paid parental leave part of a universal child care strategy NYC parents overwhelmingly want to play a primary role in caring for their children in the first year of life. A universal child care strategy cannot fully meet parents’ needs without addressing their ability to take time away from work to provide that care. As the City considers how to best support families with infants, parental leave should be treated as part of the child care continuum. Doing so is both respon- sive and efficient - better reflecting what most parents want while reducing some of the demand the City would otherwise need to meet through licensed infant care during the earliest months of infancy, when care is particularly costly to provide. The City should work with the State to strengthen NYS Paid Family Leave and remove barriers that prevent parents from fully using the benefit. State policymakers should increase wage replacement, particularly for lower-income workers through a progressive wage rate, so that parents do not have to return to work sooner than they would like due to financial insecurity. They should also reduce the PFL eligibility requirement from 26 consecutive weeks with the same employer to four weeks, aligning it with the tenure requirement for Temporary Disability Insurance, and making eligibility portable across jobs. Policymakers should also consider extending the duration of leave available for bonding with a new child. State and City administrators should expand awareness and utilization of the NY State Paid Family Leave program by conducting outreach and education to workers, employers, and medical pro- viders. Policymakers should also strengthen enforcement of existing job protections so that workers can use the leave available to them without employer interference or fear of retaliation. 2. Build flexibility into publicly funded child care to match families’ varying needs. Parents’ child care needs vary not only by the day and hour, but also the total amount of care required. Yet the existing publicly-funded child care system offers families a narrow set of options. Programs like Pre-K and 3-K have generally run Monday through Friday during school hours, with limited ex- tended-day options matching a traditional workday. As a result, many parents must find and pay for supplemental care outside program hours, while others who need only part-time care may forgo ar- rangements they would otherwise prefer or they opt out of the program entirely. Child care vouchers, which help eligible families pay for care at a provider of their choice, can offer greater flexibility in provider type, hours, and schedules. But vouchers are currently means-tested, and
THE 2026 NEW YORK CITY PARENT SURVEY : WHAT CHILD CARE PARENTS WANT 31
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