New York CIty Council Member Ben Kallos
This website is maintained for historical purposes.
Ben Kallos is no longer a candidate for Manhattan Borough President or any other office.

One Man One March for Child Care Funding Joined by Council Candidate Kallos with Proposal for Funding

 

One Man One March for Child Care Funding Joined by

Council Candidate Kallos with Proposal for Funding

“Child care helps New York’s single parents escape poverty,” says Kallos.

“City-subsidized child care pays for itself.”

 

New York, NY – Following child care funding cuts in the Final Executive Budget affecting thousands of working families, Council Candidate Ben Kallos joined Executive Director of DC 1707 Raglan George, Jr. at the “One Man One March,” along with Mabel Everett, President of Local 205 Day Care Employees, to call on Mayor Bloomberg to restore funding to help provide for New York City’s children, single parents and families living in poverty.

 

“Child care can help New York’s working families escape poverty by providing time for the education they need for quality jobs that pay a living wage,” said Kallos. “Parents, often single mothers, are forced to take public assistance and live in poverty because they have no other option for providing child care.  Government-subsidized child care can change all that and provides the City’s low-income families with a pathway for success.”

 

This year, Mayor Bloomberg’s final Executive Budget slashed $60 million in child care funding, which, according to the Campaign for Children, will cause 4,400 school-age children to lose child care vouchers, and 4,600 children will lose their seats in Pre-K child care programs.

 

“Government-subsidized childcare pays for itself. A parent qualifies for subsidized child care while earning up to $40,068, which carries with it $8,831.13 in tax liability, while the city invests as little as $2,748 for a voucher or around $7,712 per fully paid child,” said Kallos. “If a parent gets the chance to work, the city often earns back its subsidy in tax revenue. This is without figuring the amount saved when a parent is generating income and no longer needs full public assistance.”

 

Raglan George, Jr. has been protesting to save New York City child care through his ongoing One Man One March since fall of 2012, which has attracted attention to the plight of New York City’s childcare programs under the Bloomberg administration.

 

“We call on Mayor Bloomberg to restore funds so we can keep our children in day care, where they belong,” said Mabel Everett, President of Local 205 Day Care Employees.

 

“I’m proud to join Raglan George, Jr. to demand that the City help working parents stay out of poverty,” said Kallos. “In my district on the Upper East Side, impoverished families suffer from pockets of neglect created by underfunding.”

 

Ben Kallos is a Candidate for City Council representing the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island who was raised in New York City by a single mother and has served as Chief of Staff in the Assembly working on economic development and Executive Director for New Roosevelt a leading good government group.  Learn more at KallosForCouncil.com.

 

###