ACS Child Care Voucher Update

As of May 5, 2025, The NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) is no longer issuing child care vouchers to newly applying families who are not in receipt of Cash Assistance. This change is due to reduced funding from New York State compared to previous levels.

We hope the guidance below is helpful as you work with families in the following situations:

Households in Receipt of Cash Assistance

Households in receipt of Case Assistance have a child care guarantee and will therefore remain eligible for child care vouchers, even if they are new to the Cash Assistance program. There is no change in policy for this group.

Households in Receipt of an ACS Child Care Voucher

Households in receipt of an ACS child care voucher should be very mindful of their recertification date and recertify within the specified time frame, with all required information submitted. If they do not recertify according to the guidelines, they will lose the voucher. Families can submit their recertification by mail or on MyCity; if they submit on MyCity they should be able to track the status on the MyCity platform.

Households in Need of Child Care

Families can submit an application for an ACS child care voucher; however, if found eligible, they will be placed on a waitlist.  It is recommended that they explore alternative ways of obtaining affordable child care coverage for the immediate future, see below for more information.

• Extended Day and Year (EDY), Head Start (HS) and School Day Year Plus (SDY+) seats offer child care for up to 10 hours a day at low or no cost. More information on program eligibility and enrollment can be found at https://www.schools.nyc.gov/BrightStarts. More information on available programs can be obtained using the filter options at https://myschools.nyc/en/.