[Excerpt] 80% of households in New York State (NYS) cannot afford child care. This lack of access to affordable, quality child care significantly constrains parents’ and guardians’ collective ability to participate in the economy, save for the future and enjoy a decent standard of living.

The most significant problem facing the child care industry is a dwindling supply of child care professionals. Due to the poverty wages paid to many child care workers in NYS, child care providers are unable to staff programs and meet the demand for child care. Since the pandemic, this constriction of the child care labor market has reached crisis levels.

What are the key problems, debates and potential solutions for New York’s ongoing child care crisis? Who are NYS’s child care professionals, and what issues are they facing as an industry? How are providers and legislators working to resolve these problems?