Comptroller Stringer Urges DOE to Prioritize Early Childhood Education Workers in RFP

(New York, NY) — Spotlighting concerns raised by early childhood education providers, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer sent a letter to New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor Richard A. Carranza urging the agency to listen to and meaningfully engage with the provider community regarding the new Birth-to-Five and Head Start/Early Head Start RFPs that form part of a contractor transition for service delivery from the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) to DOE.

“Our greatest obligation as a City is to protect the health and safety of our children. That means we need to ensure our childcare workers and teachers who are on the front lines get the support they deserve to do their jobs and can earn a fair wage with decent benefits,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “I urge DOE to listen to the voices of providers who have raised serious questions about the transition of contracts from ACS to DOE. Child care workers are the backbone of our early childhood education system, and they enable children across the five boroughs to thrive in the classroom and beyond. They do this important work while often bearing significant costs. We owe it to them to take the time to get this right.”

The letter calls on DOE to address the substantial concerns raised by service providers during the RFP process and work with stakeholders to iron out a framework that takes into account the significant sacrifices made by those New Yorkers who are tasked with protecting the health, safety, and wellbeing of the city’s children, and the significant costs associated with managing a high-quality early childhood education program.

To read Comptroller Stringer’s letter to DOE, click here.

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