Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul Announces $35 Million Expansion of QUALITYstarsNY

On July 6, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul announced the state’s $35 million investment in QUALITYstarsNY to expand our services to more early childhood programs across the state. The announcement was made at an event at Bronx Community College (BCC) Early Childhood Center, which is one of nearly 900 programs currently participating in QUALITYstarsNY.

Lt. Governor Hochul was joined at the event by City University of New York (CUNY) Interim Executive Vice Chancellor Dan Lemons, BCC President Thomas Isekenegbe, and Office of Child and Family Services Commissioner Sheila Poole, who all emphasized the profound impact this historic investment will have on the state’s youngest learners, their families, and early childhood educators.

“This funding will add 1,000 new child care providers to QUALITYstarsNY, fulfilling a key recommendation of the Child Care Availability Task Force to provide high-quality care to the youngest New Yorkers. Children who receive a strong start have better educational outcomes, setting them on a path to success for life,” said Lt. Governor Hochul.

QUALITYstarsNY applauds Governor Cuomo and state lawmakers for acknowledging the importance of high quality early childhood education in New York’s recovery. With this funding, QUALITYstarsNY will be able to provide our comprehensive supports and resources to more early childhood programs so they can implement high quality practices that have a lifelong impact on the children they serve.

New York State allocated this $35 million investment in QUALITYstarsNY from the federal stimulus provided to the state to support early childhood education for New York’s recovery. The funds will be administered over three years by the Office of Child and Family Services in collaboration with the City University of New York.