NEW YORK — Thousands of New York City families who rely on vouchers to help cover the soaring cost of childcare will soon get a reprieve on all out-of-pocket costs, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Thursday.

While many parents receiving the subsidy are already off the hook for childcare expenses, about 22,000 families in the Child Care Assistance Program currently pay a sliding-scale fee capped at $15 per week for most children.

Starting next month, Mamdani said the city will cover all out-of-pocket costs — and childcare will become free for those participants, too.

“For thousands of families, a weekly childcare fee means another bill they simply can’t afford. Making that care truly free can make all the difference,” Mamdani said in a statement. “As part of our promise to deliver universal childcare, we are eliminating these fees for families receiving childcare assistance across the city.”

The city has allocated $5.2 million this year — and $6.2 million in future years — to cover the family’s share of child care costs, according to a City Hall news release.

The Child Care Assistance Program provides vouchers for eligible children ages 6 weeks through 13 years old, and older for kids with disabilities. It is largely funded by the state but managed by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services, with priority for families on cash assistance.

The new money does not benefit the thousands of eligible, low-income families who continue to languish on waitlists for the vouchers due to insufficient funding. Parents may qualify if they earn up to 85% of the state’s median income, or roughly $114,000 for a family of four.

Thursday’s announcement comes as Mamdani, who campaigned on free childcare for all kids starting at 6 weeks, is looking to scale the city’s offerings dramatically.

Last week, the city made its first offers to Mamdani’s signature “2-K” initiative, a free daycare program for 2-year-old children. Demand for 2-K was nearly three times more than seats available, meaning 3,700 families were shut out of the program in its first year.

“Childcare costs should never be a barrier to a family’s stability, and the mayor has made delivering on that promise central to his administration,” Mamdani’s childcare czar, Emmy Liss, said in a statement. “As we prepare to launch free 2-K this fall, we are making all publicly-funded care free for families.”

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