Editorial/Opinion ....................Pages 12,13 Education

How increased access to childcare bolsters Black women workers

Childcare providers with toddlers (Contributed photos by Wonderschool)

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Reliable access to childcare in New York City has always been a gamble, especially when COVID hit. City council passed legislation last week that takes aim at addressing systemic issues with childcare services and increasing support for Black and brown women workers.

According to a city economic report, in January 2021 an estimated 519,000 workers in the city were not working because they had to take care of a child at home. Many of whom are statistically women and women of color.

“Childcare remains one of the biggest challenges for working women and families across New York City,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams in a statement. “Expanding affordable, accessible, and high-quality childcare on a universal basis has always been a top priority for this Council. With the passage of this unprecedented legislative package, our city will help families get the care they need for their children while boosting our economy and recovery.”

Councilmember Crystal Hudson, a co-sponsor of the childcare bills, said that she is proud to work toward a universal childcare system in the city that can tangibly address the lingering effects of the pandemic felt disproportionately by women and women of color across the five boroughs. “Universal childcare will help narrow this persistent gap, ushering more women back into the workforce and ensuring parents do not have to choose between their families and their careers,” said Hudson in a statement.

A National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) study said that 22% of Black women across the U.S. lived in poverty between 2014 and 2018, even though they are “more likely than white women to be the primary breadwinners for their families.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black women and their families faced financial security in general as well as job shortages in the childcare industry, which also highly employs Black and brown workers. A NWLC survey in May 2021 later showed that the median annual earnings of working Black mothers in New York was $40,700 compared to the $75,000 median annual earnings of white and non Hispanic fathers.

NWLC’s recommendation to support financially stressed Black women is to expand access to affordable, high quality childcare, which could increase their income and lifetime savings.

The extensive package of childcare bills passed by city council would do just that. It requires various initiatives, including a report on how to support working mothers and caregivers, a childcare task force and advisory board, a directory of childcare programs in the city, a grant pilot program to boost accessibility, and financial assistance to families and childcare providers.

“Women who leave the workforce to care for their children will lose more than $480k in their lifetime, money families desperately need. New York City is in the midst of a childcare crisis, which means that women and caregivers are experiencing an economic crisis,” said Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, who also sponsored one of the bills.

Gutiérrez said that the bills will not solve all of the problems parents and providers face today, but it’s a step towards the city realizing a long held vision of universal childcare.

Wonderschool CEO and Founder Chris Bennett is a huge proponent of universal childcare and universal pre-K as the beginning ring in the step ladder to higher education for underserved communities. He said that there’s a shortage of childcare facilities and slots for children, and that many home-based childcare providers, smaller and usually run out of private homes, struggle to access necessary funding due to regulations.

“A lot of the policies are made for center-based programs. They were designed for those,” said Bennett. “Home-based programs tend to serve Black and brown communities. And the ultimate goal is so that they can access universal pre-K funds so that they’re able to better serve Black and brown children.”

Because of a lack of funding, home-based providers can’t administer universal pre-K. Bennett considers universal pre-K crucial to shaping the minds of impressionable children under the age of five. “If they’re being raised in an environment that’s loving, providing the right social emotional support around other children, then they’re set up to be able to do that later on in life,” said Bennett. “Children who don’t get access to it, it stunts them. Children who don’t get access to it have worse health outcomes, less likely to be employed later on.”

Committee for Hispanic Children & Families President & CEO Ramon Peguero, Esq. said that universal childcare programs must meet family needs, including different modality options in their community, programs that speak their language and reflect their culture, those that offer mixed-age settings, and those that offer nontraditional hours of care.

“The pandemic taught us that access to childcare is essential to a healthy and prosperous economy,” said Peguero. “This is especially true for Black and brown communities working in sectors that don’t afford the privilege of virtual work, and are often forced to choose between caring for their children and having a job. Childcare ensures a stable workforce, the bedrock for a thriving economy.”

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w

mandating holders to impart recent social media activity. And prevents strangers from concealed carrying guns onto private property without the owner’s consent.

The CCIA came as a response—and concession—to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen to strike down the state’s license requirements for carrying concealed guns in public as unconstitutional. But in a game of legislative whack-amole, the new law’s constitutionality is also getting challenged through the case Antonyuk et al. v. Hochul.

While “Big Apple” gun violence prevention efforts largely concentrate on “ghost guns” and other illegal firearms, unfettered public concealed carry brings a slew of new issues in the country’s most densely-populated city, as reported earlier this summer by the Amsterdam News. Returning fire during a shooting puts bystanders at higher risk—whether the gun is legal or not.

The dangers are especially high in crowded areas like Times Square, prompting Mayor Eric Adams to sign bill Intro 602-A last week, which designates the tourist hub as a conceal-carryfree zone via the CCIA. The legislation’s author, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, called the move an important effort “to prevent an exacerbation of the gun violence crisis” during the Mayor’s Office announcement.

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s harmful decision to strike down New York’s century-old gun laws places New Yorkers at risk of increased gun violence,” she said. “After our partners in the state legislature passed sensible legislation to limit the areas where a person can carry a weapon, the Council completed its duty to define the Times Square area, one of the ‘sensitive locations’ where strict firearm regulations are enforced.”

The city’s gun violence prevention czar Andre “A.T.” Mitchell is also a proponent, telling the NY Amsterdam News that Times Square is “too crowded of an area for random people to be out there with a legal or illegal firearm.”

In conjunction, Mayor Adams also signed Intro 518-A, a bill introduced by Councilmember Shaun Abreu for the mayor’s office to produce an annual report on each illegal gun seized by or surrendered to the NYPD. As for his thoughts on the CCIA, he said the city would comply with any judicial ruling. But he hopes Times Square doesn’t become the wild, wild west.

“There’s no sign on your forehead saying, ‘I’m the good guy, I’m the bad guy,’” said Adams. “And anyone who believes a place like New York could become Dodge City and all of a sudden, you are in danger and your loved ones, your family members, your children, because now all the illegal gun owners are now carrying a gun in a city like New York, as densely populated like New York.”

Election

Continued from page 3

the city council in the next elections for District 9 in Harlem because of tensions with current Councilmember Kristin Richardson Jordan.

Additionally, there are state supreme court, civil court, surrogate court, and ballot proposals to vote on. There are a total of four proposals. The first is about combating the impact of climate change under the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022, which authorizes the sale of state bonds to fund environmental protection and clean energy projects. The second adds a statement of equitable values to the city charter to remedy “past and continuing harms and to reconstruct, revise, and reimagine our foundations, structures, institutions, and laws to promote justice and equity for all New Yorkers.” The third establishes a permanent citywide Racial Equity Office to advance racial justice in the city’s planning process. The fourth proposal amends the city charter to create a “true cost of living” measure to track the actual cost in New York City of meeting essential needs.

Visit nycvotes.org for more info. To check voter registration, visit nycvotes.turbovote.org/. Find your poll site at findmypollsite.vote.nyc/.

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w the wellness of our families, Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. announced today a groundbreaking $2 million partnership with therapy platform BetterHelp to bring free mental health services to Queens residents.

Announced at Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities’ Corona headquarters one day after World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, the partnership with BetterHelp—the nation’s leading virtual mental health therapy provider—will see up to $2 million worth of the organization’s services split among 10 different community-based organizations from across Queens.

Each CBO will receive $175,000 worth of services to make available across their networks, with the remaining $250,000 being distributed to constituents at the discretion of the Queens Borough President’s Office. The announcement comes two weeks after the inaugural Queens Wellness Day in Flushing, which saw hundreds of community members participate in meditation and healing sessions, as well as a comprehensive health resource expo.

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