Fighting for NYC Kids and Families

Early childhood development is essential; a child’s first educational experiences lay the groundwork for future academic success and socioeconomic well-being, and ensure that parents are supported and our economy thrives. However, NYC’s early childhood education landscape is bleak; currently, 80% of NYC families cannot afford child care, while the recent threat of budget cuts endangers early education programs that would offset high child care costs, such as universal 3-K and Pre-K.

That’s why Robin Hood funds efforts to support early childhood education for NYC families and children, and advocates for policy changes that expand access to these critical services and resources.

This June, Robin Hood’s Policy and Early Childhood teams led the charge calling for the restoration of over $100 million for early childhood education funding, programming, and outreach, crucial investments that were on the budgetary chopping block.

Learn more about how we did it:

• Shaping Public Debate: Our CEO Richard Buery’s testimony to the City Council and his op-ed in the NY Daily News set the stage, highlighting what was at stake and clearly stating Robin Hood’s role in supporting early childhood education.
• Funding Research: Our Policy team funded research to understand affordability challenges and eligibility and demand disparities for child care. These reports supported Robin Hood’s Poverty Tracker data on the benefits of early childhood education for working parents. This data was also instrumental in our budget negotiations with the city, and it was also used by labor unions and other groups to advocate for funding restorations.
• Mobilizing Parents: Utilizing the experience of our grantee community partners, we implemented targeted strategies to mobilize parents in key districts, raise awareness on underutilized 3-K and Pre-K seats, and highlight the widespread need for early childhood education.
• Enhancing our grantee’s advocacy campaigns: We funded strategic communications support for grantee Citizens Committee for Children, allowing this impactful on-the-ground organization to refine their media relations and messaging strategy, all aimed at advocating for early childhood education and the restoration of 3-K/Pre-K funding.
• Bridging Political Divides: Together with our partners, Robin Hood directly urged the Adams administration and City Council to restore early childhood education funding in NYC’s 2025 executive budget.

These concerted efforts contributed to city leadership’s agreement to restore $112 million to 3-K and Pre-K programs, creating 1,700 new seats for children and replacing expiring federal funds. The work doesn’t end with this budgetary win — this partial funding restoration still leaves many families without the services they need. There’s more work to be done to make sure every child and family that want a 3-K/Pre-K seat gets one, and that’s why we’re dedicating an additional $5 million to go toward future outreach efforts, helping vulnerable families learn about and access child care, Pre-K, and 3-K programs.

In a city where families, especially those in poverty, struggle to afford child care and access free early childhood education resources, these investments are crucial to ensuring all New Yorkers have a fair shot at success.