Committee on Health meeting
April 22, 2026, 1:00 PM
Jointly with the Committee on Oversight & Investigations and the Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education.
The Committee on Health held a joint oversight hearing on child care program background checks, along with hearings on related bills (Int 0015, Int 0135, Int 0831) and resolutions on child care policy and family leave. No votes were taken.
What was discussed
- Chairs open the joint oversight hearing on child care background checks Council Member Lynn C. Schulman, Chair of the Committee on Health, opened the joint oversight hearing on child care program background checks together with co-chairs Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez (Oversight and Investigations) and Council Member Shekar Krishnan (Subcommittee on Early Childhood
- Administration witnesses are sworn in Committee Counsel administered the oath to the administration witnesses before their testimony.
- Administration demonstrates the new child care permitting and background-check portal Emmy Liss, Executive Director of the Mayor's Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, and Aaron Yarbrough, the office's Chief Digital Strategist, walked the committees through the new provider permitting portal, and Deputy Commissioner Corinne Schiff of DOHMH testified on the agency's
- Who ultimately oversees the background-check portal? Council Member Lynn C. Schulman asked who is ultimately responsible for the portal that routes information between agencies. Aaron Yarbrough (Mayor's Office of Child Care) said DOHMH is ultimately the overseer.
- How large is the background-check backlog and how long does processing take? Council Member Lynn C. Schulman pressed on processing times and volume. Deputy Commissioner Corinne Schiff (DOHMH) said the median processing time is about 30 days, that the city receives roughly 3,000 applications a month (about 4,200 in September), and that ongoing portal upgrades continue to
- Is the agency equipped to process background checks for the 2K and 3K expansion? Council Member Lynn C. Schulman asked whether the agency was ready for Mayor Mamdani's expansion of 2K and 3K seats this fall. Emmy Liss (Mayor's Office of Child Care) said the city plans to work with existing providers given the short turnaround, and Deputy Commissioner Corinne Schiff (DOHMH) said
- Can an already-cleared educator change jobs without a new background check? Council Member Shekar Krishnan asked, in connection with Intro 15, whether DOHMH requires a fresh background check each time an educator changes employers. Deputy Commissioner Corinne Schiff (DOHMH) said it does not: a worker cleared within the past five years with no break in service beyond 180
- Does DOHMH support Intro 15? Council Member Shekar Krishnan asked whether DOHMH supports Intro 15. Deputy Commissioner Corinne Schiff (DOHMH) said the agency has no concerns with the bill but wants to better understand the problem it aims to solve, since as written it directs the agency to comply with existing law.
- Are translation services available for applicants who don't speak English? Council Member Lynn C. Schulman asked about language access in the background-check process. Deputy Commissioner Corinne Schiff (DOHMH) said the background-check portal can be translated and that LanguageLine provides interpretation in about 200 languages.
- How do DOHMH and DOI coordinate when a cleared worker is later arrested? Council Member Shekar Krishnan asked how DOHMH handles arrest information from the Department of Investigation about workers who were already cleared. Deputy Commissioner Corinne Schiff (DOHMH) said DOI routinely shares results and arrest information, and that DOHMH keeps records of where workers
- How is the new provider portal performing since launch, and what feedback are providers giving? Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez asked how the newly launched portal was working and what providers were reporting. Aaron Yarbrough (Mayor's Office of Child Care) said feedback has been fairly positive, that a monitoring 'war room' runs at launch and only minor issues (like mismatched addresses)
- Can providers use the portal on a phone, and are inspections still annual? Council Member Gale A. Brewer asked whether less tech-savvy providers could use the portal on mobile devices and how often inspections occur. Aaron Yarbrough (Mayor's Office of Child Care) said the portal is mobile-responsive and tested well on tablets, and Deputy Commissioner Corinne Schiff (DOHMH)
- Advocates and providers testify on delays and clearance portability Members of the public testified on remaining pain points: Paula Inhargue of United Neighborhood Houses pointed to out-of-state checks and the gap between provisional approvals and full clearances; Neily Appeal of Cuddles Child Care described how a required termination letter from a prior employer
- Child care networks give virtual testimony Testifying virtually, Kathia Pillier of Nuestro Los Niños Child Care Development Center described documentation systems used by family child care networks, and Sage Schaftel of the Early Care and Education Consortium testified on behalf of members operating hundreds of programs.
Agenda
7 items
- T2026-1527 Oversight - Child Care Program Background Checks. Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0015-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requirements and reporting for background checks for child care providers, employees, and volunteers Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0135-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to inspections and routine closures of child care centers Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0831-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to providing leave for bone marrow and living organ donation and establishing a city bone marrow and living organ donor honor roll Hearing Held by Committee
- Res 0425-2026 Resolution calling on the New York State Assembly to pass A.8824A, A.9648, and A.9060C, and for the Governor to sign S.8334A/A.8824A, S.8853/A.9648, and S.8496C/A.9060C, legislation requiring vaccines to be regulated, recommended, administered, and insured based on the recommendations of various Hearing Held by Committee
- Res 0427-2026 Resolution calling on the New York State Assembly to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.4786/A.8345A, to enact the “New York affordable drug manufacturing act” Hearing Held by Committee
- Res 0448-2026 Resolution calling on the New York State Assembly to pass A.3839, and the Governor to sign S.5852/A.3839, requiring insurance to reimburse the total direct and indirect practice expenses associated with vaccinations Hearing on P-C Item by Comm