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Statewide 3-K
96% of 3-year-olds outside NYC can’t get free child care. First we passed a statewide Pre-K guarantee — now we’re pushing for 3-K.
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Full-Day, Full-Year Care.
A free seat that ends at 2:30 doesn’t work for a parent who works until six. A seat you can’t use isn’t free. New York City can do better — and together, we’re going to make sure it happens.
Live nowUpdated August 2026
Why it matters.
Too many child care seats in New York don’t work for working families. Most 3-K and Pre-K programs in New York City run from 8am until 2:30pm — and pause for the summer.
Jobs don’t work that way. As a result, parents pay thousands for after-care, scramble to leave work early, or leave their jobs entirely. Mothers and hourly workers pay the highest price.
“When my 6-year-old was three, I got a 3-K seat — with no after-care. I ended up paying for child care AND after-care AND summer camp. One summer, every dollar of my paycheck went to covering care.”
- of parents opted out of 3-K and Pre-K because it doesn’t cover after-care
- XX%of parents opted out of 3-K and Pre-K because it doesn’t cover after-care
- a month families pay to cover the hours a “free” seat doesn’t
- $XXXa month families pay to cover the hours a “free” seat doesn’t
- of parents cut hours or left a job because care ended too early
- XX%of parents cut hours or left a job because care ended too early
- families with kids under six are twice as likely to leave New York
- 2xfamilies with kids under six are twice as likely to leave New York
What we’re fighting for.
Full-day care
Every free child care program should last as long as a workday does — not end at 2:30 and leave parents scrambling.
Full-year care
Families don’t stop needing child care in the summer. Free programs should run year-round, so no parent has to shell out thousands for summer programs or take unpaid leave to fill the gap.
Fair pay for the workforce
A full-day system doesn’t work without the providers who staff it. That means paying child care workers a living wage — not the poverty wages that we settle for now and that are driving talented educators out of the field.
Permanent funding
Full-day, full-year care needs a dedicated source of funding that parents can count on — so it won’t get cut the first time a budget gets tight.
Press or legislative staff: email us for the printable one-pager, the numbers behind it, and someone to quote.
The full story
How we got here — and why the gap persists
New York City made a historic promise: free care for its youngest children. But the seats families actually won mostly run a school day, not a working day — and pause entirely for the summer. For a parent on an hourly schedule, that gap is the difference between a “free” seat and one they can’t use.
The fix isn’t a new program. It’s funding the hours and the months the current programs leave out, and paying the workforce enough to staff them. That’s a budget choice — one City Hall and Albany make every year.
This section is a placeholder for the fuller Full-Day, Full-Year background. The detail Sam trimmed for concision belongs here; restore Asya’s and Rebecca’s vetted long copy before publish.
Join the fight.
Every voice puts more pressure on City Hall to act.
We’ll tell you when there’s a budget vote, a rally, or major updates.
If you’ve struggled with half-day care, we want to hear it.Share your story
Other campaigns
Ongoing
Permanent Funding for 2-K
Parents won the first 2-K seats in New York’s history. Now we’re fighting to fund them for good.
See where it stands
Ongoing
Universal Child Care
Our vision: free care for every child, from birth to five, full-day, full-year, in every zip code across New York.
Read the plan