Chart a course to affordable childcare in a New York minute.

NYC Childcare Navigator is a gift from the United Federation of Teachers to the families and childcare providers of New York City. As with the union itself, the initiative is completely not-for-profit and for the public good.

The platform is entirely free for both families and childcare providers.

The childcare programs listed in the NYC Childcare Navigator Search Portal represent the most comprehensive list of NYC childcare programs that exists. This is because it allows you to search in one place for the following types of childcare: 

• Home-based programs

• Center-based programs

• School-based programs 

All programs are licensed, inspected, and regulated by their respective agencies, specifically: 

• Home-based programs: Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS)  

• Center-based programs: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)

• School-based programs: NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE) 

Beyond the due diligence done by the regulating agencies above, there is no additional vetting done by the NYC Childcare Navigator initiative on the programs listed. However, each of the agencies above have public sites you can use to look up a history of each program and any concerns that have been flagged during inspections and if/when they have been addressed. 

Anywhere from none, to some, to a lot of personal information is necessary, depending on which part of NYC Childcare Navigator you use. We’ll break it down for you: 

• To find out for what free or low-cost childcare you are eligible: Just your mobile phone number.  No personal identifying data is needed beyond that, and you can play around with your responses (test out scenarios of having another child, or taking a promotion opportunity, etc.) as much as you’d like. 

• To apply for free or low-cost childcare: If you decide to submit your application directly to the agency, no additional information need be shared with us. If you decide to use our tools that allow you to apply directly through the app for the benefit, then you would need to share with the system any information that the application itself requires. 

• To search for childcare: No personal information is required to search. However, if you want to create a “Favorites” list that you can have emailed to you, you would need to provide your email address. 

Any information you provide is protected using the highest levels of security. We are SOC-2 type II, HIPAA compliant, and do not and will never share data without your permission (such as to submit an application) or sell your data!

It depends on the program. The turnaround time on learning whether or not you’ve received the benefit varies from program to program (it can range from two weeks to a month or two). Likewise, the application process varies by program. Some involve easy, online applications with few paperwork requirements. Others require more paperwork and can be confusing. 

The good news is that we’re here to help. Specifically, for all applications, we provide a detailed Application Guide & FAQ that will guide you step-by-step through the process, make complicated language simple, and highlight common mistakes that often cause eligible applicants to be rejected. Even if you are applying for a longer, more confusing application, we’re here to help. In addition, we provide live chat support in more than a half-dozen languages to answer any questions you have as you work through any application!

Even if you don’t qualify for free or low-cost childcare, NYC Childcare Navigator can be a huge help to you. The NYC Childcare Navigator Search Portal has the most complete and comprehensive listing of childcare providers in NYC. In a single, filterable search, you can browse more than 12,000 childcare providers across the five boroughs, including home-based, center-based, and school-based programs.

The list of currently opened school- and center-based programs is updated every day, while the list of home-based programs is updated once per week. 

Additional information (e.g. open spots, cost, and any other supplemental information above and beyond the basic listing that every program begins with) can be added by the program at any time and shows up instantly. 

Finally, to ensure that availability (open spots) information is reasonably current, we delete any open spots information that is more than thirty days old. So, if you see a program with the green “Open Spots” sticker, that means that the program had availability within the past month.

You have a few options. At the top of each provider page, you’ll typically see a “Message” button and a “Call ” button which you can use to contact the provider. If you use the “Message” feature, it will bring up a form you can fill out that will send an email to the provider from the system. In addition, if there is a published phone number and/or email address for the program, you’ll see them just below in the “Location Details” section. You can then call or email the program directly.

More than likely, you are over-filtering. Try removing your least essential filters and see if the results improve. 

Search Tip #1: The way filtering works in the NYC Childcare Navigator Search Portal is that if a program has not explicitly indicated that they offer a particular service, then the system assumes they do not and you will not see them in your filtered results. For example, if a program has not taken the time to enter their schedule, then they will not appear if your filter says “Show only programs that are open on Monday by 10:00am.” 99% of the programs are open at this time, but if they haven’t filled that information in, you won’t see them. This applies to all the filters. Just because they don’t show up as having “Open Spots” or speaking Spanish or being open at a certain time, doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t… it just means that the program hasn’t submitted that informationTherefore, start with filters that meet your needs and if you don’t have enough results, remove the filters and start reaching out directly to the programs to ask them directly if they can accommodate your needs. 

Search Tip #2: When you adjust most filters, you will need to hit the “Search” button again for the results to update. 

Search Tip #3: The map only shows pins for the programs that are already visible as tiles in the list view (when you first load a page, only the first 20 results are visible and those are the only ones you’ll see on the map). Unlike other maps you may have encountered on other sites, the results on the map do not update as you scroll or zoom in or out. The pro tip for using the same is to scroll to the bottom and keep hitting the “+” button until you’ve added all the results in your search area. After doing so, return to the map and you’ll be able to see all the programs in a geographic area as you scroll or zoom. 

There is no cost for childcare programs to be listed. 

If your program is not currently listed, please send us a message using this form. 

If your program is currently listed, you can claim your listing by visiting www.findchildcarenyc.com/provider_access. For assistance, please check out this step-by-step guide and our video tutorials (part 1 and part 2) or email info@findchildcarenyc.com. For more information about NYC Childcare Navigator as it pertains to childcare providers, please check out our Provider Portal FAQ.