Advocates say that child care is an issue where a lot of ground has been covered over the past few years, but they hope its relatively limited mention in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State address doesn’t mean the state is taking the foot off the pedal.

Dede Hill, policy director at the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, said the four proposals the governor included to address the child care crisis are encouraging.

They include introducing a support network for family and group child care providers, reimbursements for quality improvements and advances in mental health resources, as well as a continuation of using pandemic-era funds to fuel grants supporting child care workers.

That said, she told Spectrum News 1 that more needs to be done to build the workforce and enhance options for parents and caregivers.

“Any supports for the child care workforce are welcome and absolutely needed,” she said. “What this workforce needs is a substantial increase in compensation, and perhaps even more important, a sustained increase in compensation.”

Questioning the longevity of pandemic-era funding, she stressed that recruitment in the field will continue to struggle until a permanent solution is reached.

“They cannot recruit and retain existing staff if they can’t promise them, 'I can give you a bump this year and the next year and the next year,'” she said.

Democratic Assemblymember Sarah Clark said child care in New York state has come a long way over the past few years, but there is an urgent need to work toward better compensation while expanding access to care for parents who work unusual hours and working toward a true cost of care model.

“Until you fix the workforce situation, you’re going to continue having providers closing, and until families are sure that child care works for their job and their job type — it’s really hard to see that we’re making progress,” she said.

Republican Assemblymember Brian Maher said a priority for his conference is removing red tape and making it easier for child care providers to operate.

He said in addition to the governor’s proposals, he sees room to continue making up ground this session through legislation on an issue where he says common ground does exist.

“It’ll be less controversial if we can get together and get past the partisan gridlock that we self-induce sometimes and really just have conversations, getting to the best of who we are as legislators and listen to some of the organizations that are on the ground doing the work,” he said.

In speaking with us, Hill was clear on her organization’s message. 

“What we would like to see is a proposal from the state to create a permanent line of funding using public dollars to supplement the wages of the child care workforce,” she said.

She added that like Clark, her organization is prioritizing expanding care options for parents who work inconsistent hours, such as those who are part of the gig economy, as well as eliminating barriers for children that are based on immigration status.