WOODBOURNE – On Tuesday afternoon the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), DaMia Harris-Madden, visited the Head Start campus in Woodbourne to give a presentation about the state’s budget.

Attending the event were daycare providers from across Sullivan County and the Sullivan County Commissioner of Health and Human Services, John Liddle. 

The proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, which has been delayed as of its deadline on April 1, includes $4.5 billion in childcare support, which includes a push for universal pre-kindergarten and funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). 

“There’s been a lot of movement in terms of what we’re investing in, childcare being one of them, but also recognizing that there’s been about an 11% decrease in federal funding,” Harris-Madden stated. 

The CCAP program has been paused in Sullivan County since July 1 of last year, as enrollment in the program outpaced the available funding.

As part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget, the subsidy program that helps cover the cost of childcare expanded to make families below 85 percent of the state median income, or nearly $114,000 for a family of four, eligible. 

This resulted in a 533% increase in the number of subsidies provided in Sullivan County from September 2021 to September 2025, according to figures from the budget proposal. 

County Commissioner Liddle has been working with OCFS and other state leaders to re-open the program.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that things are coming around,” he said. “The numbers that we’re seeing are very encouraging.” 

On top of the CCAP budget, supplemental funding will be made available, with Sullivan County receiving $541,192. And more funds may come through, Harris-Madden said, as New York City gets ready to implement universal 2-K and will no longer need its CCAP allocations.

After the presentation, childcare advocates were able to ask questions and were directed by Harris-Madden to the appropriate resources. 

Jessica Dean, owner of Jessica’s Daycare in Monticello, said it was a beneficial event for the community. 

“Although we were not given a concrete date as to when CCAP will be reopening, we do see that there is money allocated in the budget that can assist in reestablishing services for families who were denied renewal due to lack of funding,” Dean said.

As previously reported in the Democrat, Dean has been advocating for the reopening of CCAP and said daycares are feeling the effects—with some seeing a decline in enrollment as parents are choosing to leave their jobs as they cannot afford daycare.