Quality child-care is essential to the educational goals of many CUNY students. University child-care programs serve students and their children in developmentally appropriate and culturally diverse early childhood, school age, and infant/toddler programs.

Professional staff provides flexible on-campus care and education to accommodate the needs of parents during the day, evenings and weekends.

The University's child-care programs provide a broad spectrum of developmental experiences for children with a strong emphasis on parental involvement. The programs aim to improve the quality of life both for children and their families by providing an array of services that include parenting workshops, parent/teacher conferences, early intervention and prevention services, as well as health resource referrals.

Educational programs emphasize the individuality of each child and are concerned with the physical, emotional, social and cognitive aspects of development. In child-initiated settings, many opportunities are provided for active exploration and discovery. Children are encouraged to communicate, collaborate, articulate and solve problems in interactive learning environments.

All of the CUNY early childhood centers place particular emphasis on providing multi-cultural environments, which promote the strength and value of human diversity. The children derive many benefits from these programs including pleasure in learning, positive sense of self and genuine affection and respect for others. Experienced and dedicated state certified early childhood educators oversee and implement the various programs.

Participating families value the programs for both the quality early childhood education offered, and for the unique climate of social diversity, acceptance and understanding found in the CUNY community. The centers provide service to over 1,600 student-parents and their 2,400 children. All of the University child-care programs are licensed and evaluated by the New York City Department of Health and are non-profit organizations.