INTRODUCTION More than a decade ago, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio launched Pre-K for All, mak- ing free pre-kindergarten available to every four-year-old in New York City regardless of family income. In the years since, the City has gradually expanded pre-kindergarten access to three-year-olds through 3-K, reaching roughly 45,000 three-year-olds (of just under 100,000 total) as of Fiscal Year 2025. 5 Under Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State has also significantly expanded child care assistance and investment. Yet families still face prohibitive costs and a limited patchwork of care options during the years be- fore pre-kindergarten and outside the traditional school day. Across the United States, public investment in child care remains limited, with most assistance targeted to fami- lies with the lowest incomes, and even then, reaching only a fraction of income-eligible households. Recognizing the significant financial strain that child care places on fami- lies with young children, Mayor Zohran Mamdani entered office at the start of 2026 with a commitment to provide universal child care for all New York City children under five years old. Building on the City’s existing publicly-funded child care programs, including Pre-K, 3-K, and child care vouchers, the Mamdani Administration announced in January that the phased-in implementation of universal child care would begin in September 2026 with an expansion of 3-K seats as well as new fully subsidized seats for two-year- olds through a new program called 2-K. 6 This effort, and the longer path to true universal access for all children under five, will be a signifi- cant operational undertaking. Of the roughly 480,000 children ages zero to four in New York City, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands are not enrolled in any publicly-funded care. 7 Expanding access to high-quality, affordable care for those who want it will require sizable new public investments over time, as well as careful planning to address challenges related to both supply and demand. De- spite improvements in data collection and reporting, the City has lacked data on what families actu- ally want. Fundamental questions about demand have — until now — gone unanswered, such as how many New York City parents want child care, and where and when do they want it? What type of care do parents with two-year-olds want? How about parents with children who are not yet two? Answering these questions — understanding what families’ true needs and preferences are — is critical to the success of a universal agenda. To help answer these questions and ensure the implementation of universal child care is both effective and responsive to NYC parents and caregivers across the five boroughs, the New Practice Lab at New
5 https://www.nyc.gov/assets/operations/downloads/pdf/pmmr2026/doe.pdf 6 https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/01/mayor-mamdani---governor-hochul-to-launch-free-child-care-for-tw 7 Author’s analysis of U.S. Census American Community Survey data and data maintained by the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, available at https://data.cccnewyork.org/data/map/1316/enrollment-in-publicly-funded-care-for-children-under-5#1316/a/3/1536/131/a/a.
THE 2026 NEW YORK CITY PARENT SURVEY : WHAT CHILD CARE PARENTS WANT 7
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