Public Policy and Advocacy
Child Care Keeps the North Country Working!
Why Public Policy and Advocacy Matters
The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby's development. But by age three, 85% of the core structures of the brain have been developed. Children who start behind, stay behind. Studies show that children with high quality early learning experiences have an advantage. They are:
- 40% less likely to need remedial services
- 30% more likely to graduate from high school
- 200% more likely to go to college
St. Lawrence Child Care Council supports quality, accessible child care for all children in St. Lawrence County and works closely with the New York State Early Care and Learning Council (ECLC), The Empire State Campaign for Child Care, the New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council (NYSECAC), the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children (NYSAEYC) and the Child Care Aware of America. These organizations are proven leaders in state and national early care and education advocacy efforts.
SLCCC Public Policy
The St. Lawrence Child Care Council [SLCCC] is a community leader committed to promoting high quality child care services for families, child care providers, businesses and community members. Public policies at the local, state and national level impacts the quality of early care and education and the SLCCC participates in activities to support early care and education.
Current Advocacy Messages and Agendas
- We educate people on what quality child care is and why it’s so important
- We promote policies that aid in the expansion of quality child care services locally, statewide and nationally.
- We work closely with organizations that are proven leaders in state and national early care and learning advocacy efforts.
Working families with children depend on child care to get and keep a job.
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More than 11 million children under age 5 are in the care of someone other than their parent.
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Millions more school age children are in after-school programs.
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Child care often is difficult to find, especially for infants and toddlers. It is challenging to afford and of questionable quality.
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require accountability for CCDBG funds
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ensure affordable child care for families
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strengthen rural child care
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limit potentially unsafe license-exempt care
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make child care part of disaster planning
New York State’s child care system — essential to both our economic development and the well-being of our state’s children — is at a tipping point. When announcing the Child Care Availability Task Force in December 2018, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo made clear that “affordable and high-quality child care is not only vital for working families, it’s also essential to strengthening our state’s economy and by continuing to create these opportunities for parents to succeed in both work and family life we are building a stronger New York for all.”2 Lieutenant Governor and Task Force Co-Chair Kathy Hochul has likewise reinforced the essential role of child care, writing that, “The conversation on child care is changing. No longer is it seen as a woman’s responsibility. It is an essential service for families and their employers.”
The Early Childhood Advisory Council holds a deep commitment to social justice and racial equity, as a process and a goal, as evidenced by our work across the state. We recognize that, in order to uphold our vision and mission to support young children’s development, we must actively, critically and continuously work to disrupt and dismantle systemic inequities due to race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, legal status and family structure. It is our responsibility to address the inequities impacting the lives of children and families on individual, interpersonal, institutional and structural levels. In doing so we build systems that provide all young children and their families with equitable access to the services, resources and experiences that they deserve in order to thrive.
New York is presented with an unprecedented opportunity to achieve universal child care. Our campaign’s plan for statewide universal child care is guided by the CCATF’s Roadmap for Universal Child Care, but goes further than its high-level set of goals—setting forth a concrete rollout plan outlined in our new report.
State and local leaders should seize this moment and adopt this bold plan to make New York a place where families can thrive.
Published November, 2025
Action Center
Child Care Aware of America's comprehensive list of advocacy tools and resources.
Links to contact information for your:
National Policymakers:
New York State Policymakers:
Local Policymakers:
For More Information Contact:
1515 N. Courthouse Rd, 11th Floor, Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-341-4100 Fax: 703-341-4101
230 Washington Avenue Extension, Albany, NY 12203
Phone: (518) 690-4217
Fax: (518) 690-2887
Contact the St. Lawrence Child Care Council, Inc with any questions you may have by calling (315) 393-6474 Ext. 12 or emailing Bruce Stewart.
