Mayor Mamdani Announces New Emergency Microgrant Program for Home-Based Child Care Providers

 

Administration launches first step toward the City’s $3 million Emergency Microgrant Fund dedicated to licensed home-based child care providers  

  

City issues RFP to administer new fund 

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced a new $3 million Emergency Microgrant Fund to support licensed home-based child care providers across New York City. The fund will provide direct financial assistance to providers facing urgent emergencies that threaten their ability to remain open and continue serving families. As the first step in launching the program, the City issued a request for proposals (RFP) to identify an organization to administer the fund.  

  

“Home-based child care providers are the backbone of our child care system. They should not have to shoulder emergencies on their own. When a refrigerator breaks, a pipe bursts or a storm damages a home, families can lose access to the care they rely on overnight,” said Mayor Mamdani. “This microgrant program is about making sure government shows up before a crisis becomes a closure. It’s one more step toward building a child care system that values every provider and every family.”  

  

“For too long, our child care system hasn’t had the infrastructure in place to help providers weather unexpected emergencies. This new microgrant program recognizes that home-based child care providers are essential to our city’s child care system,” said Emmy Liss, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. “We designed this initiative alongside child care providers themselves because the best public policy is built with the people it serves.”  

  

Home-based child care providers are a vital part of New York City’s early child care ecosystem, serving up to 100,000 children linguistic and culturally responsive care directly within their communities. Through the new fund, more than 500 licensed providers will be eligible for emergency microgrants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to address urgent needs that could otherwise disrupt or end their operations.   

  

The Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education will work with the selected administrator to finalize the program’s design and launch the initiative before the end of 2026. 

The Emergency Microgrant Fund was co-designed by the Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education and a working group of home-based child care providers and advocates. Together, they identified emergency financial assistance as a top priority and collaborated to design the initiative's guiding principles, goals and eligibility.   

  

In April, Mayor Mamdani launched the Child Care Action Fund through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City to help build a high-quality universal child care system that supports families, educators and providers. The microgrant program will be funded through the Child Care Action Fund and complements the administration’s broader investments in free, accessible and universal child care.