True or False: A February 2025 statewide survey found that over 16,000 children in New York can't receive childcare because providers have more than 2,200 unfilled staff positions.

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True. Here's the staffing crisis by the numbers. The Empire State Campaign for Child Care surveyed 1,250 providers across nearly every county and found 2,216 unfilled positions—qualified lead teachers, assistants, paraprofessionals—and 56.5% of centers operating with at least one vacancy. As a result, over 250 classrooms sit completely empty despite waiting lists, locking out more than 16,000 kids from care. Why can't centers fill these jobs? Wages. Childcare workers can earn more selling coffee or stocking shelves, so they leave the sector. Providers can't raise pay without raising tuition, but families already can't afford current rates. It's the "textbook broken market" Treasury Secretary Yellen described. Even with the DC 37 wage agreement pushing NYC minimums to $18/hour, that's still poverty-level income in an expensive city. Universal childcare funded through taxes breaks this cycle: it lets providers pay competitive wages without pricing out families, stabilizes the workforce, and opens those dark classrooms.

True or False: A February 2025 statewide survey found that over 16,000 children in New York can't receive childcare because providers have more than 2,200 unfilled staff positions.

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