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Gov. Hochul Announces 2-Care: Free Child Care for 2-Year-Olds in New York

It’s a major step toward Universal Child Care in New York State.

New York City parents will soon get long-awaited relief from one of the city’s most crushing expenses: child care.

Today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a brand new New York State childcare program for two-year-olds, called 2-Care. The plan takes a big step toward universal child care by offering free care for 2-year-olds in New York City and strengthening the city’s existing 3-K program.

“This is the day that everything changes,” said Hochul, standing alongside Mayor Mamdani, at the Flatbush Y in Brooklyn. “We can do better because we are New Yorkers,” she said.

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“There’s one thing that every family in New York can agree on, the cost of childcare is simply too high,” Governor Hochul said. “As New York’s first mom Governor, fighting for New York’s families has always been at the core of my agenda. Today, I’m proud to partner with Mayor Mamdani and leaders across our state to make this a reality, turning that foundation into a concrete roadmap that will transform the lives of working parents and kids across our state.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, “Over the past 14 months, a movement was born to fight for a city where every New Yorker could afford a life of dignity and every family could afford to raise their kids. Today, Governor Hochul and I meet that movement as we celebrate our joint commitment to universal child care. This victory represents much more than a triumph of city and state government working in partnership — it is proof that when New Yorkers come together, we can transform the way the government serves working families.”

What Is 2-Care?

At its core, 2-Care aims to close one of the most expensive gaps in early childhood care: the year before children become eligible for 3-K.

The program is set to launch this September in high-need neighborhoods, areas where the cost of child care and lack of available spots hit families hardest. From there, it will roll out in phases, starting with communities identified by City Hall and gradually expanding citywide. By year four, the goal is to make the program available to all interested families across New York City.

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Hochul knows what it’s like to be a working mom and have to choose between caring for a child and a job that you need. “ I understand the stress families, especially young parents, are going through. I lived through that. I lived at a time when I couldn’t find childcare,” the Governor told New York Family in an exclusive. “My babies were born, and I had to leave my job. My husband was working for the government, so our income went down by half, and we struggled. I went to the store trying to buy discount diapers and formula, my hand clutching coupons, hoping that we could get through another week.”

The timing of Hochul’s announcement comes just as families and child care providers are dealing with new uncertainty at the federal level. The Trump administration recently froze certain child care assistance funds in five states, including New York, citing concerns about fraud and misuse.

The Governor called the move “vindictive and cruel,” and for many families, the worry is immediate: fewer subsidies, fewer services, and more financial pressure on child care programs already stretched thin.