PENFIELD, N.Y. – The YMCA of Greater Rochester broke ground on Thursday on a new childcare center at the Eastside YMCA in Penfield. When it’s done, it’ll add 44 new spots for parents who have been desperate to find care.

The daycare shortage in our area is a topic News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke has been covering for years. About 64% of New Yorkers live in what is considered a childcare desert. If you’re a parent, you know how difficult it can be to find a spot and then when you do, often the tuition is expensive.

The Eastside YMCA currently runs a daycare facility at the Fairport Baptist Home that serves 75 kids but there is a waiting list of more than 300.

“For every 12 children that need care, there is only one space available for them. This center will allow us to serve 44 more children, this center will allow families to enter, remain in the workforce, and contributing to our overall economic vitality,” said one leader at the news conference.

On Thursday, they had some of the kids sign one of the beams and did a walk-through of where the new daycare center will be. It’ll have access to the YMCA’s pool and gym which families are very excited about.

Some of the funding for this project came from New York State. The governor has announced a number of grants to both build more daycare facilities and to train more daycare workers. And some of that state funding is coming from the feds.

News10NBC spoke with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about a bill she’s pushing for that would free up an additional $100 million for projects like the one at the Y.

“The rural areas is where we don’t have enough people, the cities is often where we don’t have enough space so we have both problems in New York State,” Gillibrand said.

The feds still need to approve that $100 million program. The money would be available to states over the next 5 years. As for the Eastside YMCA childcare center, it’s set to open next winter.

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