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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Social Services Committee: Update on Child Care Funding (August 25, 2026)

Board of Legislators & Committees — Tuesday, August 25, 2026

BodyWestchester County, New York

SessionBoard of Legislators & Committees

DateTuesday, August 25, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:04:37

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0:18

This meeting is being recorded and summarized.

0:26

Hello, everybody.

0:27

Today is August 25th.

0:32

And it is 108.

0:34

Pian this is the uh committee on social services disability and unit rights.

0:41

I'm the Chair Nancy Barr, and I will take attendance.

0:51

I see you.

0:54

And so I know that you are here and I'm just gonna mark you as here.

0:59

Um Legislator Imamora, legislator Puja.

1:03

Here and I don't see Legislator Williams or Chair Gashi.

1:09

All right, so we are officially open at 109.

1:12

And um today we are going to be a lot of command here.

1:18

Okay, got you.

1:21

Um right.

1:22

So today we're gonna be talking about a subject that's very near and dear to our hearts here, um, and that is child care and accessibility and affordability of child care.

1:33

And we have joining us the first deputy commissioner of social services, John Piss.

1:38

We come to the table.

1:41

And why don't you come to the table as well?

1:44

Would you like to come to the table as well?

1:46

I think so.

1:48

I'm joined by the director of the child care council, and chairman of the CFO.

1:56

Okay.

1:57

I'm gonna let you do your own introduce introductions.

2:02

So um I'm gonna let you do your own introduction.

2:06

Even we introduced you.

2:07

Go ahead.

2:08

And get started.

2:08

Sure.

2:09

Yes.

2:10

Well, good afternoon, uh, Madam Chair, uh, legislators of the committee.

2:15

I'm I'm glad to be here.

2:16

My name is John Beefers.

2:18

I'm the first deputy commissioner of the Department of Social Services, and uh this year I started my 21st year with the department in the county.

2:27

So I'm glad to be here because uh I follow child care closely, uh, and it's something that's been very uh very important to the department, and we can talk through.

2:38

Definitely have some you know, some statements and overview kind of where we're at when you're ready to go, we can go from there.

2:45

Okay, and uh I'm Laura Newman, executive director of the Child Care Council of Westchester.

2:52

And Mike Goldman, Chief Financial Officer of Childcare Council of Westchester.

2:57

Well, I was I don't know if it was a promotion or not a promotion to say to a chairman of the board, but either way, it's it's not a bad thing.

3:05

I I'm pretty sure, yeah.

3:06

It definitely definitely does.

3:09

I'm familiar with that sort of thing.

3:11

Okay, and uh, and I'll just say I know um you know this board hasn't always been a huge fan of child care, but in the last um decade or so, and and I guess somewhat before then, some of the legislators like Chairman Jenkins, uh County Executive Jenkins, um, you know, we're really interested in trying to promote child care because it is so critical to um obviously it's critical to our economic um development, having people we can work because their children have a place safe place to go.

3:50

Um also just two people being able to have opportunities to get educated to have careers.

3:58

So I mean, there's just a lot to be said for for um for good um safe um child care that people can can depend on.

4:15

And certainly in the last few years, um this legislat this this board has really tried to uh find as many ways as we can to help promote the availability and the accessibility, and I know you have as well in social services, and I know you have as well, child care council.

4:36

And so um we're really happy to to get this updated, see where we where we stand now.

4:42

And I know the governor has uh has made some funds available, so let's let's hear what you've got for us.

4:51

You bet well and and uh happy to do that.

4:54

Let me let me do say that one.

4:56

I've been through all of those years, every single one of them, the ups and downs.

5:01

So we appreciate the support of you all.

5:03

Obviously, the child care council has been longtime partners looking back to the first scholarship program of 2009, actually.

5:11

So um, so it's it's good to have that perspective.

5:14

And I don't know if it's just a function of age, but uh I do I will kind of revert back to some history uh to kind of lend some perspective to this.

5:25

Um and I also wanna remind everybody that we continue to operate from the perspective uh as I say in our our budget hearings that uh Jack Blue, the former OMB director, budget secretary who always said that you know, budgets are an expression of our values and aspirations, and we felt that way in social services about the work we do, but particularly about child care for a number of reasons.

5:50

So the other important reminder for those that are newer, although most of you are not, um, is that we are a state supervised county administered state.

6:01

So uh we operate within not only federal requirements of federal funding, but state rules and regulations.

6:09

So that's that's important because that drives, especially now virtually everything we do, uh, including both financing, but also the actual rules.

6:21

Um so let me just start and again a little bit of history.

6:25

Um the child care program federally was expanded with federal funding uh in local communities dating back to the 1990s, uh was consolidated as a part of the welfare reform act of 1996 into the child care development fund, the CCDF, and also allows the use of TANF block grant funds, which go to the states along with state and local matching requirements to supplement that those funds.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Child Care Services█████████████████████████████████████████████71%

Economic Development███████████18%

Budget Equity Analysis████7%

Procedural███4%

Summary of Proceedings

Social Services, Disabilities & Human Rights Committee: Update on State Funding for Child Care (August 25, 2026)

The committee met on August 25, 2026 at 1:09 PM in the Michaelian Office Building, White Plains, to receive an update on state funding for child care. Chair Nancy Barr presided. Guests included John Befus, First Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Social Services (DSS), Laura Newman (Executive Director) and Michael Goldman (CFO) of the Child Care Council of Westchester. Legislators Barr, Imamura, Puja, and Williams Johnson were present; Legislator Williams was absent; Legislator Puja participated remotely.

Discussion Items

Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Growth: Deputy Commissioner Befus reported that child care assistance-funded slots have more than doubled to 5,000 in 2026, driven by New York State mandated expansions in 2023. Income eligibility increased to 85% of state median income (SMI), approximately 350% of the federal poverty level (FPL). For a family of four, that equates to an income of up to $116,492. Family share was reduced to 1% of income over the FPL, meaning most families pay less than $50 per month. The average provider rate nearly doubled to $1,400 per month per slot, with total monthly costs of approximately $7 million. The county's minimum local match is about $1.1 million per year.
Waitlist and Funding: DSS created a waitlist in January 2026 after delaying as long as possible. As of the meeting, there were 673 families (906 children) on the waitlist, with about two-thirds below 300% FPL. The county's FY27 allocation from the state is $93 million, up from a base of $65 million and supplementals of $86 million in FY26. Starting September 1, 2026, DSS plans to fund 75 new slots per month, prioritizing the three federal priority populations (families up to 300% FPL, homeless, or with special needs children) based on the oldest waitlist date. DSS is adding a new unit and redeploying staff to handle the increased administrative workload.
Westchester Works Scholarship Program: Laura Newman described the county-funded scholarship program that covers families with incomes up to 400% FPL (raised from 350% to capture those referred from the waitlist). The average award is about $608 per month per child. The program helps fill the “donut hole” for families who lose CCAP at recertification if their income is above 300% FPL. The state budget included funding to sustain this scholarship into 2027.
Business Coaching for Providers: Newman highlighted a business coaching program (formerly a pilot) that helps child care providers with financial and operational practices. Over the past year (2025-2026), Westchester gained approximately 50 new child care programs through this support, bucking the statewide trend of losing programs. The program uses a tiered structure where graduates can mentor new cohorts.
Provider Concerns and Challenges: Legislators and guests discussed the strain on providers who must make business decisions when families lose subsidy eligibility. Some providers accepted children over the summer hoping for reimbursement that was not guaranteed. Newman noted that the number of working poor families is growing, making it difficult to meet demand even with increased funding. Deputy Commissioner Befus acknowledged volatility at the federal level (potential TANF and CCDF freezes) and the need for continued advocacy.

Key Outcomes

The committee received the update and discussed next steps.
Legislators expressed support for the county’s child care investments and requested ongoing updates on the waitlist reduction.
The committee adjourned at 2:12 PM by a vote of 4-0 (Barr, Imamura, Puja, Williams Johnson aye; Williams absent).

No formal actions were taken on consent calendar or other business.

Meeting Transcript

This meeting is being recorded and summarized. Hello, everybody. Today is August 25th. And it is 108. Pian this is the uh committee on social services disability and unit rights. I'm the Chair Nancy Barr, and I will take attendance. I see you. And so I know that you are here and I'm just gonna mark you as here. Um Legislator Imamora, legislator Puja. Here and I don't see Legislator Williams or Chair Gashi. All right, so we are officially open at 109. And um today we are going to be a lot of command here. Okay, got you. Um right. So today we're gonna be talking about a subject that's very near and dear to our hearts here, um, and that is child care and accessibility and affordability of child care. And we have joining us the first deputy commissioner of social services, John Piss. We come to the table. And why don't you come to the table as well? Would you like to come to the table as well? I think so. I'm joined by the director of the child care council, and chairman of the CFO. Okay. I'm gonna let you do your own introduce introductions. So um I'm gonna let you do your own introduction. Even we introduced you. Go ahead. And get started. Sure. Yes. Well, good afternoon, uh, Madam Chair, uh, legislators of the committee. I'm I'm glad to be here. My name is John Beefers. I'm the first deputy commissioner of the Department of Social Services, and uh this year I started my 21st year with the department in the county. So I'm glad to be here because uh I follow child care closely, uh, and it's something that's been very uh very important to the department, and we can talk through. Definitely have some you know, some statements and overview kind of where we're at when you're ready to go, we can go from there. Okay, and uh I'm Laura Newman, executive director of the Child Care Council of Westchester. And Mike Goldman, Chief Financial Officer of Childcare Council of Westchester. Well, I was I don't know if it was a promotion or not a promotion to say to a chairman of the board, but either way, it's it's not a bad thing. I I'm pretty sure, yeah. It definitely definitely does. I'm familiar with that sort of thing. Okay, and uh, and I'll just say I know um you know this board hasn't always been a huge fan of child care, but in the last um decade or so, and and I guess somewhat before then, some of the legislators like Chairman Jenkins, uh County Executive Jenkins, um, you know, we're really interested in trying to promote child care because it is so critical to um obviously it's critical to our economic um development, having people we can work because their children have a place safe place to go. Um also just two people being able to have opportunities to get educated to have careers. So I mean, there's just a lot to be said for for um for good um safe um child care that people can can depend on. And certainly in the last few years, um this legislat this this board has really tried to uh find as many ways as we can to help promote the availability and the accessibility, and I know you have as well in social services, and I know you have as well, child care council. And so um we're really happy to to get this updated, see where we where we stand now. And I know the governor has uh has made some funds available, so let's let's hear what you've got for us. You bet well and and uh happy to do that. Let me let me do say that one. I've been through all of those years, every single one of them, the ups and downs.

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