Hi John,

The state budget is due at midnight, and we’re still waiting to learn the details on so many critical issues for New York’s families and communities — including for child care.

Here is what we do know: we know that Governor Hochul is still attempting to block undocumented children from accessing expansions to child care programs. But we also know that when it comes to the New York State budget fight, nothing is over until it’s over. There is still time to influence what makes it into the final budget.

Together over the past months, we have built a drumbeat for universal child care. Now we have just hours left to make sure that the final decision makers in Albany hear our voices and heed our demands. Take action now!

We demand a child care system for all New Yorkers, one that will not exclude children because of their immigration status. Yesterday, we emailed; today we are making calls.

Scroll down to view a sample call script (or you can click and hold/right click here to save it to your device). Then dial the numbers below to call Governor Hochul, then Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Speaker Carl Heastie.

I am a (parent/provider/community leader) calling to urge you to include at least $3 billion dollars for child care to support ALL children and families, regardless of immigration status, in the enacted state budget.

Throughout the pandemic, New York’s immigrant families, including many undocumented families, have been the bedrock of many essential workforces. Now, they are counting on you to support them by ensuring they do not face barriers to receiving the child care they need. We need the enacted budget to include $3 billion dollars for child care to support ALL children and families, regardless of immigration status. ​

As is always the case this time of year, there is a lot going on this week. In addition to the daily action above, we're going to be sharing some other ways you can engage — on social media, at in-person events or by amplifying some of the other budget issues being decided this week.

Online at 12 PM: Tune in at noon to listen to the conversation a conversation with moderator India Walton and guests Ana María Archila and AQE's Jasmine Gripper: "Building an Economy of Care." This conversation will take place usingTwitter Spaces, a live audio conversation that anyone on the internet can tune into as listeners (even those without Twitter accounts). Join the Space here.

New York City at 11 AM: Join us for an emergency rally in front of Governor Kathy Hochul's office (633 3rd Avenue), as we demand not a penny less than $3 billion to put us on a path to universal child care, allowing ALL our families to go back to work, our providers and educators to be paid what they deserve, and our babies to be nurtured.

Even if you can't attend in person, there are lots of ways to engage:

1. Tune in Live on Facebook at 11 AM
2. Follow the action in New York City today via AQE's Twitter or the #NYSUniversalChildCare hashtag
3. Show your support using the updated toolkit linked below!

Help us amplify our message calling for #NYSUniversalChildCare using your personal social media accounts! You can find sample Tweets and posts, as well as graphics and videos, at the toolkit linked below. And remember to follow AQE and the hashtag to see what's happening in real time.

We will be adding content and updates to this toolkit throughout the week.

Watch for tomorrow's email with our next way to take action.