A New York organization believes universal public childcare can be implemented in five years.
New Yorkers United for Child Care is using its newly released roadmap to guide this plan, with the primary goal of saving people money.
Estimates show state residents spend $22,000 per year per child. New York families spend a combined $14 billion per year on child care.
Rebecca Bailin, executive director of New Yorkers United for Child Care said their plan would help families afford living in the Empire State.
"We will be able to retain middle-class families, retain the diversity, economically and racially in our state," said Bailin. "We would be able to make sure working parents can work productively - they don't have to miss as many hours or remove themselves from the workforce entirely."
A Fiscal Policy Institute report finds 40% of New York families are leaving because of the state's high child-care costs.
Enacting the plan would cost $12 billion per year - 6% of the state's current budget.
Some revenue streams to fund the program include a capital gains tax, a corporate tax, and a high-income earners tax - which combined could raise an estimated $40 billion.
The proposal's feedback has been positive, but Bailin said she knows these next five years will be challenging.
The plan involves expanding universal public child care over the five years. New York City already has universal pre-K and 3-K.
The goal is to strengthen programs like this, and age down. She said this program is necessary for all New Yorkers.
"It is really up to us to make this happen," said Bailin. "It's up to the parents and the would-be parents who are sick and tired of the status quo, who are thinking about having families or growing their families, and are just not being able to find a way out."
A Cornell University poll shows 51% of people say their biggest decision in choosing to stay at home was the high cost of child care.
Nearly one quarter said their biggest obstacle to employment was lacking accessible child care in their area.
