Child Care

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Get information about:

Child Care Financial Assistance for help paying for child care
Head Start to learn about free child development activities for children ages 0 to 5
3-K Enrollment
Pre-Kindergarten Enrollment
After School Program for elementary, middle school, and high school students
Child Care Permit and Operation

Report a:

Child Care Complaint

Learn how to:

You can get information about permitted, licensed, and registered child care programs. Some of these programs are partially paid for by the City. Others are private and will require you to pay for the full cost of the program.

Child care programs include:

Group child care during the day or at night for children 3 to 5 years of age
Infant-toddler care for children 0 to 2 years of age
Home-based or after school child care services

Finding care for children under 5 in NYC should be simple for every family. NYC Child Care will help you understand the different types of child care programs and find a provider that works for your family.

You can get a list of licensed and registered child care programs through the Child Care Resource and Referral Consortium.

Agency: Child Care Resource and Referral Consortium
Phone Number: (212) 206-7818
Business Hours: Monday - Saturday: 9 AM - 6 PM

The Little Apple child care center is City’s free, on-site child care pilot program for City workers. The application is currently open and the deadline is May 15, 2026.

To be eligible, employees must:

Be a full-time DCAS employee regardless of work location or a full-time City employee who is assigned to 1 Centre Street
Be a parent or legal guardian of a child between the ages of 6 weeks (as of Sept. 1, 2026) and 3 years old (as of Dec. 31, 2026)

One application may be submitted per family and may include multiple children per application. Full eligibility details will be available on the DCAS website when applications open.

Selected participants will be notified in June. Families not selected will be placed on a waitlist and contacted if space becomes available.

Learn more about the Little Apple child care center.

The Living for the Young Family through Education (LYFE) Program provides day care services for children, ages 8 weeks to 3 years old, of students still attending school. This program tries to meet the specialized needs of young families.

Online

Learn about day care for parenting teens who are in school.

By Phone

Call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675) for help.

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Licensed Child Care Providers

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