Albany, NY – Today, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo joined the Winning Beginnings NY Coalition, a coordinated effort of children’s advocacy groups, in support of the ‘Believe in Children Campaign.’ At the Legislative Office Building in Albany, Lupardo and others unveiled the plan to build a comprehensive system to better serve children and families in New York State.

Research shows that a lack of high-quality programs causes children to fall behind early and find themselves in an achievement gap. In an effort to eliminate that gap, the Believe in Children Campaign calls for a $182 million investment to expand childcare in New York to an additional 25 thousand children; investing more than $100 million to launch universal pre-kindergarten programs in districts across the state; and an investment of $9 million to put in place the infrastructure needed to provide quality after-school programs.

"I fully support the priorities of the ‘Believe in Children Campaign,’" said Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Children and Families. "The agenda certainly reflects the priorities of many of my colleagues in the Assembly and echoes the sentiments expressed by the Governor in his recent budget address. We will certainly be discussing this in the coming weeks as we arrive at a budget agreement."

The Believe in Children Campaign called upon the Assembly and Senate to build on the governor’s universal pre-k and after-school initiatives and provide for a significant childcare expansion.