Politics & Government

In Mt. Kisco, Bramson Discusses Child Care, Criticizes Astorino

Westchester County Executive candidate Noam Bramson made a visit to Mount Kisco on Wednesday to discuss child care, while criticizing incumbent Rob Astorino for his actions on the issue.

Bramson, who is New Rochelle's Democratic mayor, came to Mount Kisco Child Care Center (MKCCC), toured the place, met kids, staff and board members and then discussed policy. The stop was not a standard press conference but rather a gathering around a table.

The stop was a chance to criticize Astorino, a Mount Pleasant Republican, regarding two actions taken under his administration for the county's subsidized child care program. The first is about raising the parental contribution share for one of the income levels up to 27 percent. The other involves curbing admission of people to Title XX, which is the program's higher-income support level.

Officials from MKCCC expressed concern with the changes, and described a situation that included scholarship aid not being adequate and the challenge of recruiting corporate and foundation funding, the later being described by one official as a “huge challenge.”

In addition, an official with MKCCC explained that large scholarships are being paid by the organization to lower-income groups at the expense of people who make more money but also need support. Bramson, who described the situation as being caused by people not receiving public aid and then shifting to a private form, called it "very interesting and disturbing.”

Legislator Peter Harckham (D-North Salem), who is majority leader for the county's board of legislators, was with Bramson and described the changes as a “double whammy” that's “killing the working families.” Harckham also argued that spending money on child care is a better and cheaper investment, warning that alternatives include paying more to support families on welfare or with the shelter system.

After the meeting, Bramson spoke with local reporters about the issue.

“I think the cuts that have been introduced over the last few years have been wrongheaded, self-defeating," he said.

Responding to a reporter's recap of Astorino's contention that change is needed in order to help the program's finances, Bramson gave a similar argument as Harckham about cost effectiveness versus other county programs.

“He often refers to these as hard choices. My view is they're dumb choices.”

Ned McCormack, Astorino's communications director, argued that the changes were necessary in order to keep the program solvent for recipients. 

"The funding for the overall program has remained intact," he said.

McCormack also noted that the 27-percent share, which went into effect for the current county budget, is still less than what is paid in New York City. He said that asking parents to pay more "is not easy," but described the situation as a financial one. In addition, he also noted that people in the lowest income level of the program do not pay anything.

On the issue of Title XX, McCormack replied that while people who are not in the program cannot enter, those who were in a lower income level within the program but made more money can still access it. He also said that there are now more available slots for the child care program than there were three years ago, which was Astorino's first year in office.

Editor's Note: The original version of this story mistakenly stated that the parental contribution rate is more than New York City's. It has been corrected.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here