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Welcome back to Power and Politics. In a new initiative, the New York Community Trust is funding wage increases for 100 childcare workers and 3 nonprofit centers in Westchester County for the next 3 years. The organization said it hopes to improve recruitment and retention while opening up more seats for kids to enroll in early child care programs. Joining the show now is the vice president of the Westchester branch of the New York Community Trust, Laura Rossi. So could you tell us how this all came together? We have 50 years of experience in addressing the childcare issue in the county. Um, we also, uh, coming out of the pandemic, had started to look at guaranteed basic income and economic mobility for low-income working families, what we know as the Alice population. When legislators in Memora and Johnson, Williams Johnson came to us around the childcare educator issue, it was a great opportunity for us to bring our guaranteed basic income research into this particular part of the sector where we were already investing. We see this as an economic development. And economic mobility issue both for the county. So, Westchester's business community needs a strong childcare system, so working parents can rely on childcare. The childcare system needs to be able to recruit and retain educators, licensed educators in order to fill classrooms and reduce waiting lists and meet the needs. The issue around the pay for childcare educators is a long-standing one. Guaranteed basic income or wage supplements have been proven to help with retention and recruitment and overall job satisfaction. Particularly amongst childcare educators. So, we looked at that, we looked at promising models, and that formed the initiative that we've crafted that you have heard about. How do you define the core issue here? So we're looking for opportunities where smart investments with great partners, both policymakers and our on the ground providers can inform policy solutions that are sustainable and for the long term. That is the highest and best use of philanthropy in our opinion. While we also do a lot of um grantmaking that meets the, the here and now needs. Um, this initiative is representative of a real catalytic uh investment in order to inform policy work that can happen at the county level that's tailored to the needs of Westchester County. And then perhaps, hopefully can inform other counties and state policy as well. So where is all that money going that you're going to be investing over the next couple of years? So the bulk of these grants are actually going directly to the educators through, through the centers. So the grants are to the centers, which are 3 nonprofit centers. They in turn will provide an extra $2 an hour to their childcare center educators. There's a little bit of money in each grant to cover their administrative costs and payroll costs. And then we've also hired um a data evalu. that will gather through surveys, data, both from the centers, from the educators, and from the business community to really hone the policy recommendations that the county task force will be looking at over the next 3 years. So, The million dollars is 3 grants, most of which are really going to these wage supplements, support for the centers, and um this evaluator and data collector to really guide and inform the work. So, Um, within, over the next 3 years, we, we wanna understand what the pain points are. We want to see if we can replicate the models we've seen in other states. We think we can, um, but we wanna craft some good policy recommendations that the county can. Consider when you're looking at the data over the course of the next 3 years, what is your ultimate goal with that information that you collect and how would you like to see it applied in the future? I think we need to have a fresh look at how to pay for the business of running a childcare center, um, and that really is going to take. Community-directed investment from many sources. So, philanthropy can't cover it all, the public fisc can't cover it all. Businesses can help, individuals can help. That's the model that we're seeing in other places and it seems to be working. So that is our ultimate goal is to look at Where resources can be brought together to address this pressing need. And by the way, to really prove the point that those resources will have a tremendous return on investment in strengthening the economy, the local economy for businesses that have working parents. Particularly, I would be remiss if I didn't say working mothers who too often are left out of the workforce because they can't find. Uh, quality, affordable childcare. Is there anything else you'd like to add? The ultimate goal is for there to be a tangible expression of the value of the work of childcare educators, that folks understand that they really are the very foundation of our economy in many, many ways. When the pandemic hit, one of the first grants we made was to support childcare so that first responders could get to work. So, I think understanding that paradigm, and yes, there's been a lot of interest from the governor and certainly in New York City around free childcare, but we still have empty classrooms and we still have a lot of talented folks who deserve a fair wage to work in those classrooms with our youngest residents. So, there needs to be a paradigm shift, not just amongst the voting public, but amongst the business community and amongst Policymakers around the value of this workforce. Vice president of the Westchester chapter of the New York Community Trust, Laura Rossi, thank you for the time. Asked about Jenkins' statement, the trust said it had no response beyond the interview. After the break, two county legislators who represent districts where the three benefiting centers are located joined the show to share why they support the pilot and what they hope to see get out of it. We'll be right back.

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Back to power and politics. We're talking child care this week. A new pilot program is aiming to see if investing more money into staff salaries will increase retention and open up more seats for kids in the future. The lowest bronze Children's Center in White Plains, Mount Kisco Child Care Center in Mount Kisco, and the Elizabeth Massa Childcare Center in Tarrytown are the three providers who will receive the grants. Now Westchester legislator David Imamura is a strong supporter of the initiative and believes there's legitimate policy change to be had if the results come back positive. Here's what he had to say. I think about every day how much childcare costs when I drop off my kids, and I think about how little the people who are paid to take care of my kids are paid. And I know that they deserve more, and I know that there are empty classrooms where I bring my kids, and so this was something that I thought of almost every day, you know, from the moment I was elected, and this is something that I'm very cognizant affects my generation, affects the people I'm friends and family with every day, right? People, I know people who are saying I can't afford to have another kid because I can't. Afford the childcare payments. I can't afford to have a kid at all because I cannot afford to have what's effectively a second mortgage. And so in order to combat this, you know, we were looking at what options were available to the county, we were, and this was something that came up with the idea of what can we do to help a workforce, right, that is incredibly transient because they're just not making. Enough money because, you know, people who arguably have the most important role in our society, taking care of people's kids are not being paid commensurate with that important role. County legislator Jewel Williams Johnson's district is home to two of the centers that will be involved in the pilot. She called the money infusion a big win for working families. I chair the health committee. I am. Constantly talking about mental health and stress and trauma, and I couldn't, I can't imagine, you know, having a traditional family for two parents and 2 kids and having to work two jobs and not Never mind the normal stressors of that. How about doing all of that and not being able to spend time with your own family, your own children? You're stretching yourself working during the day, taking care of other people's children, going home for maybe a quick minute, and going back out to a second job and have no time for your own children. Uh, we have to do better, and this, this pilot program is a great start. Once again, I'm Jonathan Gordon. This is Power and Politics on News 12, where local elections lead to national change. More news, weather, and your hyperlocal headlines are coming up right after the break.

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Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins and Westchester County Operations Director Emily Saltzman spoke to News 12’s Jonathan Gordon to talk about the state of childcare in the area.

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