NYC Council Applauds Agreement for DOE to Resolve Delayed Reimbursements, Ensure Free Baseline for Early Childhood Education Suggest

City Hall, NY – The New York City Council has welcomed a new agreement with the Department of Education (DOE) to pay for reimbursement delays that have threatened the operations of early childhood education programs citywide. The agreement provides key funding for programs that more closely reflect contracts, and it follows sustained advocacy from providers, advocates and labor unions, with key support from Members of Congress. Early childhood education programs were reduced payments from contracts when the number of acts fell short of the number of goods in the contract. During the pandemic, this is shown as a significant issue – providers budgeted and hired for the projected level of enrollment held in the contracts, but denied compensation payments, when they experience an unexpected decline in enrollment.

Under this new agreement, providers will be guaranteed 75 percent of the contract for any unexpected drops in the actual address. Part of the payment solution will stabilize the city’s economy and education system, helping to retain a predominantly female workforce of color and averting the likely loss of early childhood education programs and providers.

The agreement comes two weeks after the Congressional Education Committee held a hearing and press conference on the matter. The department will also provide special assistance to help them submit their budgets and pay, as recommended by the Council.

“New York City’s early childhood education providers care and teach our children at a critical stage in their young lives,” he said. Speaker Adrienne Adams. “This area plays an important role in the neighborhoods of the city and the local economy, as women of color are usually employed. These providers and educators deserve financial stability, and today’s agreement helps them get the funding they need to operate their programs. As a city, we must strive to ensure that our essential vendors are paid in an appropriate and timely manner. This is a step in the right direction to achieve that common goal of reaching these vital providers from early childhood education.”

“The boy is a personal concern for me. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I was doing it on the city council not because of the kindness of family, friends and neighbors who volunteered to watch my little one while I knocked on doors and stood outside public stations to earn a job,” he said. Council Member Rita Joseph, Chair of the Council Committee on Education, is a former public school teacher. “With today’s announcement, we are advocating for child care in New York City and supporting the efforts to care for children, working parents, and most importantly, our children. This convention wins the mayor of New York City while providing economic stability to the for-profit sector that predominantly employs women who look like me and my neighbors. While there is still work to be done to strengthen care in our city, this is a positive step in the right direction. I thank the advocates, providers and parents, as well as Speaker Adams, my Council colleagues, Chancellor Banks and the Department of Education for their partnership.