At SUNY Old Westbury, $1.5M for a new childcare center

New York State awarded SUNY Old Westbury with $1.5 million to build a childcare center.

The new childcare center is still in early planning stages, but it would serve as many as 100 children, including those of faculty and staff, local families and SUNY Old Westbury students.

The $1.5 million is part of a $15.6 million funding plan to support a priority to expand childcare services at SUNY campuses.

“Expanding high-quality, affordable child care options is an essential piece of creating a more equitable and accessible higher education system for New Yorkers,” Gov. Kathy  Hochul said in a statement about the funding.

The new center would seemingly serve as a welcome addition to the daycare landscape where working parents seek affordable, quality childcare on Long Island.

“My administration remains committed to ensuring all parents have access to quality child care, and this funding is a critical step toward ensuring parents have the support they need to pursue a quality education and build a better future for themselves and their families,” Hochul said.

Ultimately, the state plans to have a childcare center at every campus.

“Increasing access to child care could be game changing for our student parents and to the many families living near our campus,” SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy Sams said in a statement.

“For our students particularly, providing this service can help ensure them the opportunity to pursue their studies and put them on a more stable path to graduation,” Sams said. “This funding is a first critical step in the process of building the new facility, and we are thankful to Governor Hochul and SUNY for their support.”

Meanwhile, parents in the area may have new childcare options by year’s end. Ahead of creating the new facility, SUNY Old Westbury officials plan to reopen its current childcare center by 2023 in the college’s Campus Center. That childcare center has been closed for more than two years because of COVID-19.