Just over one year into its five-year child care initiative, Cornell has helped create nearly 200 new child care slots across Tompkins County - almost four times its original first-year goal of 50 spaces.
The milestone marks early success for a community-centered model of employer-supported child care, launched in October 2023 in partnership with the Child Development Council of Central New York.
Designed to address the region's growing shortage of child care options, the Tompkins County Community Child Care Growth Initiative is part of Cornell's broader commitment to supporting working families, both within the university and throughout the surrounding community.
"Increasing availability and expanding access to child care is vital to the health of our community and the strength of our local workforce, and key to enabling us to recruit the most talented faculty and staff," President Michael I. Kotlikoff said. "Cornell is proud to partner with area providers in building sustainable solutions that serve families across Tompkins County. This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting working families - both within the university and throughout the region we call home."
"This initiative has given us the opportunity to support new and expanding child care programs with much-needed funding," said Barb Mechalke, child care development director of the Child Development Council. "The ability to offer concrete support has had a huge impact on removing financial barriers for providers who are opening new programs or expanding existing ones to serve more children."
Cornell has committed to contributing up to $300,000 annually for as many as five years to support both new and existing child care networks in Tompkins County - helping expand access for all families, not just those affiliated with the university. Additionally, Cornell has allocated another $72,000 to fund a developer position with the Child Development Council to manage the fund, and to provide business coaching and other support to providers.
Through the first cycle of grant funding, 10 area providers have received support to either launch new programs or grow existing ones. As a result, a total of 191 new child care slots have been created for local families. The grants also enable providers to make renovations required for state licensing, and to purchase essential equipment and supplies such as cribs, changing tables and learning materials. Nearly half of the new slots opened over the past year, with remaining spots opening in the coming months.
One provider, Karlem Sivira, was able to enhance her group family child care program by installing a fence that shields the play area from a busy road - giving both herself and parents peace of mind, and offering children a safe, engaging outdoor space.
"This got us everything we really needed to open," Sivira said. "It's a very difficult time to start any business. There are so many purchases needed just to get started: furniture, art materials, age-appropriate toys and even software to manage clients and payroll.
"I wouldn't have been able to care for as many children without this grant," Sivira said. "The Child Development Council and Cornell provided so much guidance and support on how to organize the space and acquire materials for the children."
Program leaders say surpassing the original goal so quickly is a strong indicator that the model is working and that the community need is significant.
"It was really important to us that we support a variety of care types that can meet the needs of families at different income levels," said Michelle Artibee, director of workforce well-being at Cornell and a member of the initiative's oversight committee. "That means supporting not just center-based care, but also more affordable, flexible family-based options. For working families - whether staff, faculty or graduate students with children - access to full-time care is essential.
"Child care is a community resource, just like transportation or public schools," Artibee said. "It's powerful for Cornell as an employer to step up and say, we want to support the growth of this industry and support working families."
Cornell plans to continue its multiyear investment, scaling the program to reach more providers and help stabilize the region's child care system. Additional applications are currently under review, and more expansions are expected.
"The dream of publicly funded universal child care is a goal we hope to reach down the road," Mechalke said. "But for now, we encourage other area employers to join Cornell in contributing to the Community Child Care Supply Growth Initiative, so we can build a community with enough child care to support our local workforce and help families thrive."
Grace DePaull is communications assistant in the Department of Inclusion and Belonging in the Division of Human Resources.
