Testify on Oct 29. Two minutes, your story.
Below you will find talking points and a fill-in-the-blank script you can use for the City Council hearing on the business of child care. Pick the script for providers or for parents, fill in your blanks and practice it once out loud.
Before you testify
You get two minutes, so pick one or two stories and tell them well. You don't need to know the policy details -- you know what it means when a payment doesn't come.
- When: Thursday, October 29, 1 PM, City Council Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education with the Committee on Small Business, "Oversight - The Business of Child Care"
- Where: 250 Broadway, 8th Floor, Hearing Room 1, Manhattan, or on Zoom
- Register first: council.nyc.gov/testify. On Zoom you have to register ahead. In person you can also sign up with the Sergeant-at-Arms on the day.
- Need interpretation? Email translationservice@council.nyc.gov by Monday, October 26.
- Can't speak? Send written testimony up to 72 hours after the hearing.
- Bring your receipts: You don't have to, but if you can show details showing late payment, it can help.
Talking points
Use the ones that match your story. You don't need all of them.
For many providers, every month is a crisis.
- Month after month, providers are paid late, and some see payments reversed with no explanation at all.
- Late payments, unexplained reversals and system failures mean providers cover payroll, rent and food out of their own pockets, borrow, or go without their own pay to keep their doors open.
We're paid only after we submit attendance.
- Providers are paid only after they submit attendance for the month.
- Imagine an 8th grade teacher getting docked pay because students were out with the flu. That's what attendance-based pay does to us.
The State made us a promise. None of it has happened.
- Years ago, providers were promised the State would begin paying in advance, and finally based on enrollment, rather than attendance.
- None of this has happened.
The City needs more of us -- fix this first.
- The City needs more child care providers to meet demand for universal child care.
- It won't get them if the providers we have now can't count on getting paid. Fix these problems before more providers are affected.
What we're demanding:
- Pay providers in advance
- Pay based on enrollment
- Hold agencies and third-party vendors accountable -- ACS is the City agency that runs the payments and the companies it contracts to process them
This is about pay justice.
- Our campaign to Pay Our Providers is about pay justice. Pay justice means thriving wages -- but that's not all.
- We need the basics of on-time payment and functional payment systems too. The New York City Council must deliver on these promises.
Two-minute script
Fill in the blanks and practice it out loud once with a timer. About 250 words takes two minutes.
HIGHLIGHTED tap and type your own[In brackets] use it if it fits you
Who you are
Good afternoon, Chair Thomas-Henry, Chair Gutiérrez and members of the Council. My name is YOUR NAME, and I'm a family child care provider / child care center owner / teacher in NEIGHBORHOOD, Council District NUMBER. I've been caring for children for NUMBER years, and right now I care for NUMBER children. I'm here with Providers Organized for Power, POP.
What happened
For providers like me, every month is a crisis. In MONTH, my payment came NUMBER weeks late. [Since DATE, I've been paid late NUMBER times.] [In MONTH, $AMOUNT was taken back from my payment with no explanation.]
What it did to you
When the money doesn't come, I still have to pay rent / my assistant / food for the children / my own bills. To keep my doors open, I had to borrow from WHO / put $AMOUNT on a credit card / skip my own pay / WHAT YOU DID. One sentence on what it meant for you, your family or the families you serve.
Why it keeps happening
We're paid only after we submit attendance for the month. Imagine an 8th grade teacher getting docked pay because students were out with the flu. Years ago we were promised the State would pay us in advance and based on enrollment, not attendance. None of this has happened.
What you want
The City needs more child care providers to meet demand for universal child care. Fix these problems first. I'm asking the Council to:
- Pay providers in advance
- Pay based on enrollment
- Hold agencies and third-party vendors accountable
Pay justice means thriving wages, but it starts with getting paid on time. Thank you.
Who you are
Good afternoon, Chair Thomas-Henry, Chair Gutiérrez and members of the Council. My name is YOUR NAME, and I'm a parent in NEIGHBORHOOD, Council District NUMBER. My child goes to PROGRAM OR PROVIDER'S NAME. I'm here with Providers Organized for Power, POP.
What happened
The people who care for my child are paid late, month after month. [In MONTH, our provider went NUMBER weeks without being paid.] [Payments to our provider have been taken back with no explanation.]
What it did to you
When my provider isn't paid on time, what you've seen: closures, staff leaving, the provider struggling, worrying about losing care. One sentence on what it meant for you and your family.
Why it keeps happening
Providers are paid only after they submit attendance for the month. Imagine an 8th grade teacher getting docked pay because students were out with the flu. Years ago providers were promised the State would pay them in advance and based on enrollment, not attendance. None of this has happened.
What you want
I need my provider to be there, and they can't be there if they aren't paid. The City needs more child care providers to meet demand for universal child care. Fix these problems first. I'm asking the Council to:
- Pay providers in advance
- Pay based on enrollment
- Hold agencies and third-party vendors accountable
Pay justice means thriving wages, but it starts with getting paid on time. Thank you.
Send it to yourself
Fill in your blanks above, then email or text yourself your testimony so you have it on Oct 29. What you type stays on your phone or computer. Nothing is sent to POP.
Written testimony and tips
Written testimony can be longer than two minutes, so use the same script and add the details: dates, amounts, copies of letters. Put your name, the hearing date and "Oversight - The Business of Child Care" at the top.
Where to send it: the Council takes written testimony only through its online form, council.nyc.gov/testify. Under "How will you be testifying?" choose Submitting written testimony, pick the Oct 29 hearing, and upload your file (Word or PDF, up to 10 MB). The deadline is 72 hours after the hearing ends, so send it by Sunday, November 1 at the latest (earlier is safer, since the end time isn't fixed). Questions about the hearing go to hearings@council.nyc.gov.
- Speak from your own life. Your story is the evidence. The numbers and dates make it hard to ignore.
- Say it plainly. Talk like you're telling a neighbor, not reading a report.
- End with the ask. The three demands are what we want Council members to remember.