Lara Kyriakou, Senior Director of Policy, joined All Our Kin (AOK) this past September. Lara began her career as an infant and toddler child care teacher, recognizing the tremendous importance of providing children with stable, high-quality early learning environments in their first years of life. As Lara continued to work with young children and their families in various community-based settings, she saw the link of common challenges that families were facing across different communities. She shifted her career path to focus on policy to address systemic issues that have long harmed children, families, and communities who are furthest from opportunity.
Lara is now leading AOK’s policy and advocacy work, partnering closely with government leaders, policy makers, and fellow advocates in New York. But most importantly, Lara gets to collaborate with educators. She shared, “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside educators, to learn from them, to fight with them, and to uplift family child care (FCC) in policy spaces as the essential, meaningful profession that it is.”
This is a pivotal moment for child care in both the state of New York and New York City. As Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani have publicly committed to a path to universal child care, stakeholders across the country are watching closely to see how New York leaders plan and implement efforts to align a system that is fragmented and not yet meeting the demand of all families.
In New York City, Mayor Mamdani announced just days into his new administration plans to launch “2K”, a free, non-means-tested child care program that will be available to two year olds, with the first 2,000 seats opening this fall. FCC programs, who provide the majority of care for infants and toddlers, will be crucial to ensuring the success and growth of this program.
Following news of the 2K launch, AOK created an NYC educator survey to gain a deeper understanding of their pressing questions and concerns. We heard from 60 educators, the majority of whom are interested in participating in 2K. There are concerns that qualified educators who are not in a network will be left behind, and may ultimately need to close their programs. Many of the surveyed educators have questions about how implementation would look – a perspective that will drive AOK’s policy work moving forward.
AOK is collaborating closely with educators, advocates, and policymakers to amplify educators’ questions and advocate for clarity and transparency as City plans continue to develop.
As the country watches New York closely, the stakes are high. AOK is committed to working closely with the City administration to ensure that FCC educators can participate in the 2K program, and we will continue to advocate for the overdue need for livable wages and benefits for the entire child care sector. A universal child care system will need to ensure that children and families with the greatest need and least access can fully participate in the system, and that FCC has the conditions needed to thrive in New York. It’s an exciting opportunity for the State to build a truly comprehensive system that supports FCC and ensures that educators are set up for success – and a chance to set a model for other states and cities nationwide.