Every year, counties are given the option to supplement their allocation of Child Care Block grant money from the state budget by drawing down money from the Flexible Fund for Family Services. The Flex Fund, as it is known, is  a nearly $1 billion dollar set aside of federal funds from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant administered by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. In budget year 2011-12 , fourteen counties drew down 6.2 million dollars from the Flex Fund to help needy families pay for child care.  In 2018-19, only two counties, Nassau and Onondaga, made use of that funding, and the amount totaled  $1.5 million. Linked here is a chart showing year by year, which counties have drawn down Flex Fund dollars to invest in child care.

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