child care

A lack of affordable day care has plagued communities across the country, particularly in more rural areas. Tompkins County has been referred to as a “child care desert”.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the funding last week. The Urban League says it plans to double its child care capacity to serve more families in the area.

"In order to really encourage STEM education, we need to focus and start early."

The YWCA of Binghamton and Broome County is expanding its footprint. The organization plans to build a new child care facility and affordable housing complex over roughly five acres downtown.

Acting State Human Services Secretary Meg Snead said parents ultimately have to make their own decisions about what’s safe.

"Trying to get ten toddlers to keep a mask on is a feat that's impossible. It's very, very difficult. We can barely get them to keep their shoes on, let alone a mask on their face."

Roughly a quarter of Steuben County residents experiencing poverty are under the age of 18.

“It could really change the whole way that child care is done, it could change the child care system going forward."

“We were told two weeks ago it was done, ready to go. I don’t know what the hold up is.”

It’s the latest stress the industry has faced since COVID-19 turned the child care sector upside down in March.