New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced that more than 10,000 low-income children will be moved off the city’s child care voucher waitlist and into free care, backed by a $1.2 billion state investment from Governor Kathy Hochul directed at the city’s child care programmes.

The initiative runs through the Child Care Assistance Programme (CCAP), which provides subsidised care for children aged six weeks to 13 years and up to 19 for those with special needs. Of the $1.2 billion committed by the governor, $475 million is earmarked specifically for vouchers. The city’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) will begin contacting eligible families on a rolling basis over the coming weeks, inviting them to apply. Federal rules require ACS to prioritise families earning below 300 per cent of the federal poverty line, those who are unhoused or those with a child with special needs.

The announcement follows earlier moves by the Mamdani administration, including a $5.2 million investment to eliminate all out-of-pocket fees for families already receiving vouchers, and the launch of 2-K, the city’s first universal free child care programme for two-year-olds.

Alongside the voucher expansion, the city has updated its child care map at nyc.gov/childcare, allowing families to search for licensed providers and filter results by those that accept vouchers. City Chief Technology Officer Lisa Gelobter said the tool removes the need for families to make individual phone calls to check eligibility, consolidating that information into a single searchable interface for the first time.

ACS Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston described the development as a win for children, families and providers alike. Advocacy organisations including the Day Care Council of New York and Citizens’ Committee for Children welcomed the move, though several called for sustained investment in provider wages, workforce conditions and facilities, particularly in areas where care is hardest to find.

Before the announcement, the CCAP waitlist was estimated to hold around 29,000 children. Officials and advocates were broadly supportive, while noting that this step, significant as it is, marks one stage of a longer push towards universal provision across the city.