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Hi John, New York's child care providers have kept New York's children safe, New York's parents working, New York's economy running throughout the pandemic at great personal risk. Now, they need our help! New York State received $163 million earmarked for relief of hardships experienced by child care facilities across the state, but much of that funding hasn't yet reached those who need it. Governor Cuomo and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) needs to fix the distribution process to get awarded funds into the hands of providers immediately! What are we asking for?
Check out the toolkit below for how to take action!
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1 | Send and Email to Governor Cuomo and OFCS Click below to send an email to Governor Cuomo and OFCS urging them to fix the distribution process of CARES Act funds to get awarded funds into the hands of child care providers immediately. |
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2 | Call the Governor's Office
Call the Governor’s Office at 518-474-8390 or 518- 474-1041 - press 1 to leave a message; press 2 to speak to an agent.
You can create your own message:
...Or use the script below! |
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Phone Script
Hello, my name is [participants name], and I am a [parent/family child care provider/advocate] in [city/region].
This pandemic has devastated our already fragile child care system. Providers are facing under-enrollment and struggling financially; they/we have not received the level of guidance and support needed to feel safe in these uncertain times; and still they/we have continued to show up for the communities, families, and children they/we serve.
They/I have completed the detailed application for CARES 2 for the financial support in [insert month] they/I so desperately need to keep their/my program(s) alive, and received notice I/we were awarded funds in [insert month] , but the claims process has been made so difficult that they/I have yet to receive the needed funding, even after meeting the ever-changing requirements.
I ask that OCFS stop changing grant requirements, release currently awarded funds immediately, and that New York State simplify the process for distributing future federal child care funds. Looking ahead, any remaining CARES Act funds or additional federal relief funds should be released in a grant form, not by reimbursement, like nearly every other state around the country. We are counting on you to help support and save an economic sector that is vital to the health and economic stability of our families and our communities.
Thank you. |
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3 | Post on Social Media
Below are some model tweets and posts. Share them on your social media channels with us this afternoon, evening and tomorrow morning to elevate this critical issue! |
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Sample Tweets
.@NYSOCFS @NYGovCuomo: Child Care providers have been waiting for months to forCARES 2 funds to help them operate safely. They can’t wait any longer!#ChildCareIsEssential @EmpireStateCCC
.@NYGovCuomo @NYSOCFS: NY children and working parents depend on safe, affordable child care. NY children and working parents depend on safe, affordable child care. Streamline CARES 3 dollars and distribute immediately. #savechildcare @EmpireStateCCC
.@NYSOCFS @NYGovCuomo: How long do childcare providers need to wait for CARES funding to come to them? @EmpireStateCCC
Months have gone by without the CARES 2 funding. My childcare provider is on the brink of closing. Without childcare I cannot work! Release the CARES 2 funding to providers now! @NYSOCFS @NYGovCuomo @EmpireStateCCC
NY child care providers, hit hard by COVID-19 impacts, have been waiting since July for CARES 2 child care funds. #FundChildCare @NYSOCFS @NYGovCuomo @melissadderosa @LtGovHochulNY @EmpireStateCCC
NY cannot rebuild without parent; parents cannot work without #childcare. @NYSOCFS @NYGovCuomo @melissadderosa @LtGovHochulNY: release the CARES 2 child care funds. @EmpireStateCCC
The federal funding was supposed to help us to reopen our childcare programs safely for the children we care for. @NYGovCuomo and @NYSOCFS release the funding now before our stability is jeopardized. @EmpireStateCCC
Working parents and their children need safe, quality child care!@NYGovCuomo and @NYCSOCFS cut the red tape and release federal CARES 2 child care funding now! @EmpireStateCCC
We must protect the state’s early childhood programs and childcare services.@NYGovCuomo and @NYSOCFS release the CARES dollars to secure them for the future! @EmpireStateCCC |
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Sample Facebook Posts
The federal CARES funding was aimed at helping essential workers to access services for their children and help childcare providers reopen their programs safely. Governor Cuomo and the NYS Office of Children and Families has been changing the rules of the CARES 2, delaying distribution of the funding. Childcare programs are on the brink of closing. OCFS must release CARES 2 and streamline the remaining federal funding so it has its intended purpose. #ChildCareIsEssential
Governor Cuomo and OCFS stop changing the requirements, release currently awarded funds as quickly as possible, and support providers and the programs our communities and families need by simplifying the process for receiving future federal funds for child care. Please stop risking the stability of a sector that is so important to the stability of NY families. #ChildCareIsEssential
As childcare providers, we thought there was hope when the federal government announced funding for New York’s child care sector in April. These funds were meant to offer emergency relief from financial stress and keep child care programs alive at a time when families are scared to send their children back. Now, all these months later, and we are still waiting for those dollars...are they coming? #ChildCareIsEssential |
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