Nassau Standard

Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook-21st A.D.) today stood alongside his Minority colleagues to endorse several initiatives aimed at enhancing access and affordability to child care for young women and families. Curran is a key supporter of measures totaling a $1 billion investment in child care to alleviate child poverty by augmenting tax credits for parents.

"I can’t think of anyone more deserving of support to help afford child care than working parents; they truly are real-life superheroes, and any chance to give them support is a chance we cannot pass up. Studies have shown that by increasing funding directly to parents and businesses, with things like tax credits, child poverty rates are reduced, so it is just common sense we adopt this plan," expressed Curran.

In addition to advocating for financial support, Curran is also in favor of broadening access to early childhood education. He endorses augmenting aid for universal pre-kindergarten programs and exploring the feasibility of expanding universal pre-kindergarten. "Every child deserves a quality education—plain and simple. It shouldn’t matter where you were born or the socioeconomic status of your parents. That is why I am proud to support expanding access to universal pre-K so that more children can get access to the fundamental building blocks of education," reiterated Curran.

Furthermore, Curran is championing various propositions necessitating the backing of the Office of Children and Family Services. These proposals aim to streamline processes and enhance child care accessibility by diversifying provider options and establishing innovative child care models beyond traditional norms, including evenings and weekends. The initiatives also seek to offer more parental choice in child care, establish a substitute child care provider database, and investigate obstacles hindering the establishment of new child care providers.

"The fact of the matter is that in New York, we have too much red tape and too many regulations that restrict avenues of access to affordable child care to those who need it. By cutting through these restrictions such as allowing non-traditional child care hours, we can give working parents the tools to access child care when they need to; this is another example of how by getting rid of excessive government regulation, we can make life better for everyday New Yorkers," concluded Curran.