Cheers and jeers from child care advocates

By Evan Dawson,

Published January 9, 2026 at 3:09 PM EST

Three people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at left has short brown hair, a brown beard, and is wearing glasses and a light blue button-down shirt; a woman at center has long blonde hair and is wearing a blue jacket over a white shirt; a man at right has short dark hair and is wearing glasses, a blue sweater with a grey stripe across the chest and sleeves, blue jeans, and brown shoes. — Pete Nabozny and Sarah Clark with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, January 9, 2026

It has been a roller coaster of a week for child care advocates in New York State.

Advocates are celebrating an announcement Thursday by Governor Kathy Hochul. Her administration is investing in statewide universal pre-K and additional programs to help families.

The news comes after the Trump administration announced earlier this week that it is cracking down on the Child Care and Development Fund, a program that subsidizes care for 1.4 million children from low-income households. The administration alleges fraud is reason for the move, and it will require states like New York to provide extra documentation before receiving money.

We sit down with Assemblymember Sarah Clark and Pete Nabozny, policy director of the Children's Agenda, to discuss what it all means for families in our region.

In studio:

Assemblymember Sarah Clark, District 136
Pete Nabozny, director of policy for The Children's Agenda