On February 1, Governor Kathy Hochul released the New York State Executive Budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 (FY 2024). The Governor maintained the state’s $5 million funding for QUALITYstarsNY in the proposed FY 2024 budget.
Programs participating in QUALITYstarsNY receive individualized support to identify opportunities for improvement, then access resources and guidance to create high quality early learning experiences for all families.
We applaud the Governor for continuing to demonstrate her commitment to young children and families as a champion of New York’s early childhood education system. However, a sustained, increased investment in QUALITYstarsNY is needed so more families across the state can access high quality early childhood education.
The budget now moves to the New York State Legislature for lawmakers to debate, amend, and ultimately pass the final budget for FY 2024 to take effect in early April, 2023.
Sustaining the Recent Growth of QUALITYstarsNY Requires Increased Investment for FY 2024
In 2021, the state allocated $35 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to support the growth of QUALITYstarsNY over three years. We thank the State Legislature for this historic investment, which will allow us to double in size to support more than 2,250 early childhood programs, but we cannot stop there. The new programs QUALITYstarsNY is currently expanding to support will continue to need our services in the years to come, as will many additional programs, in order to ensure families have increased access to high quality child care.
QUALITYstarsNY requests that the NYS Legislature amend the proposed funding for QUALITYstarsNY in the Governor’s Executive Budget from $5 million to $20 million for FY 2024.
A stronger investment of $20 million would allow QUALITYstarsNY to sustain current support to its increasing number of participating programs, and build on its foundation for long-term growth so more early childhood educators, and the families they serve, can benefit from the comprehensive services QUALITYstarsNY provides to enhance program quality.
Encourage Lawmakers to Increase the NYS Investment in QUALITYstarsNY for FY 2024
QUALITYstarsNY participants have always been instrumental in helping to educate New York State lawmakers about the impact of QUALITYstarsNY. We encourage you to reach out to your NYS Senator and Assembly member to share why you are committed to creating high quality early care and education experiences and how your program, staff, and the children and families you serve benefit from your participation in QUALITYstarsNY.
If your agency is not permitted to reach out to lawmakers directly, we hope you’ll ask your families to spread the word about how their child is benefiting from your program’s partnership with QUALITYstarsNY.
Download QUALITYstarsNY’s Investing in the Quality of New York State’s Early Learning System handout to include with your letters or messages to state lawmakers.
QUALITYstarsNY Testifies at NYS Senate Children and Families Committee Hearing
On January 26, QUALITYstarsNY testified at the New York State Senate Committee on Children and Families public hearing on the state’s child care crisis. QUALITYstarsNY’s testimony was delivered by Dona Anderson, Executive Director of the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute.
The testimony highlighted the impact of QUALITYstarsNY, its proven model of continuous quality improvement, and its role in safeguarding the quality of New York’s early childhood system. QUALITYstarsNY also spoke about its recent expansion and emphasized the importance of sustaining its growth—especially now, to safeguard program quality as the Governor and State lawmakers seek to implement policies to increase child care access and affordability.
