Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a major new investment aimed at expanding child care access across New York State. The $100 million Child Care Capital Construction Funding Program, unveiled this week, is designed to increase the availability of quality child care and create between 6,000 and 10,000 new seats for families.
“I deeply understand how important it is for New York State to continue to address the critical child care shortage that makes it difficult for families to find the safe, quality child care services they need,” Gov. Hochul said. “Our construction grants will go a long way to increase the availability of quality child care statewide. Affordable, high-quality child care is a necessity that I want to see extended to all New York families.”
The new program, part of the 2025 State of the State agenda, builds on last year’s $50 million Child Care Capital Program, which supported an estimated 5,500 new child care seats.
It will be overseen by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY). Grants ranging from $500,000 to $5 million will be available for not-for-profit or municipal child care providers seeking to build or upgrade licensed facilities. Projects must be located in areas with a shortage of regulated child care and remain in operation for at least eight years.
Applications will open February 2nd, 2026, and close March 13th, 2026, with awards announced no earlier than May 4th, 2026. To ensure statewide equity, 60 percent of funding will go to downstate communities and 40 percent to upstate regions.
Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi called the investment “exactly the kind of long-term, structural support New York needs,” while DASNY President Robert J. Rodriguez emphasized its role in helping communities “thrive.”
More information is available through the Child Care Construction Funding Program on the OCFS website.