NYC deputy for early childhood education pledges faster childcare payments

Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News on Oct 21, 2026

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NEW YORK — New York City is developing a new digital management system to fix payment delays for childcare providers, after some programs nearly struggled to open their doors on the first day of school.

In her first interview as Chancellor Kamar Samuels’ top deputy for early childhood education, Erica Phillips told the Daily News that her division is creating the tool to help providers report mandatory data about their programs, a process that can stand in the way of the city authorizing payments.

“Some of the challenges we’ve faced, we know have been really difficult for our childcare providers. So, we’re planning in advance,” Phillips said this week at the Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx. “DOE’s process can sometimes be challenging, and we need to make that easier to navigate — which we are doing. We’re working on a new system for our early childhood programs so that they can share information easier.”

“That is one of the solutions to be able to make this process go easier, in addition to just providing more technical support.”

The new management system comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s signature childcare initiative for 2-year-olds, known as “2-K,” launched this year amid payment delays that threatened to derail its debut on Sept. 10.

The city’s early childhood system includes many independent daycare and preschool programs that contract with the public schools to provide free 2-K, 3-K and Pre-K to families.

For years, the city has struggled to register contracts, process invoices and authorize payments in a timely way, resulting in cash-flow crises that force providers to empty savings accounts, take out loans and even permanently close their doors.

Prior administrations have tried to permanently solve the issue, to no avail.

Asked why this time will be any different, Phillips said she was confident in their approach.

“I know that it can be done,” she said. “I do believe that this new early childhood management system will be a part of the solution.”

The deputy chancellor confirmed her division is working with a vendor, but declined to say who it is, only that it’s a “company that does a lot of work” with the city Department of Education. She also declined to share an estimated timeline.

“I can share that we’re working as fast as we can get that system up and running for our providers,” said Phillips, who is the daughter of a Head Start teacher and the granddaughter of an in-home childcare provider. She is also the mom of a 1-year-old enrolled in a home-based daycare.

During the interview, Phillips defined a few priorities for her as a deputy chancellor: to fix payment delays, listen to childcare providers and parents, and rebuild staffing levels in the early childhood division.

The division currently employs roughly 590 people, education officials testified at a recent City Council hearing, representing a loss of hundreds of staffers during former Mayor Eric Adams’ tenure. Prior to Adams, under Mayor Bill de Blasio, who launched universal 3-K and Pre-K, the division had around 1,170 employees, the nonprofit news source Chalkbeat reported.

As Phillips settles into the new job, she pledged to do more or less one childcare visit each week — like her tour of Learning Through Play, where she and Samuels dropped by a classroom where children made happy face pancakes to learn body parts, and dedicated STEM and toy blocks rooms. The deputy chancellor is also planning “open sessions” and other formats for people to share feedback in the coming weeks.

Phillips will also oversee the first full school year of the loosening of a required curriculum in early childhood classrooms. Late last spring, providers were given the choice to apply to use a new course of study, rather than the “Creative Curriculum,” which had been mandated by the city since 2023, Chalkbeat reported.

Only about a dozen programs across the city have received a waiver, Phillips said during the interview.

Asked about his selection of Phillips, Samuels praised her national profile, respect in the field, and her advocacy and passion for childcare providers and young children.

“She is a tremendous partner,” the schools chief said, “and I feel super fortunate to have her.”

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