A new Boston Office of Early Childhood will serve as a streamlined access point for the city's various programs and efforts around child care, Mayor Michelle Wu said Wednesday as she also voiced support for universal child care legislation pending on Beacon Hill.

Wu said families face great need and high costs when it comes to early education and care, and that there is "tremendous opportunity" for the city to act.

"We know this is an urgent issue," she said. "For anyone who has had to go through the pandemic with kids, for anyone who has had to try to find a seat in Boston and navigate the many complicated systems and registrations and applications, this is a time for city leadership to step up and help convene and provide a one-stop shop."

The pandemic rocked the child care and early education industry, which was knocked offline at first and since then has struggled to regain its footing due to workforce challenges, new pandemic-related requirements, and upheaval in the larger workforce where remote working has become the norm for some parents. An infusion of federal relief funds has offered a measure of stability and is enabling policymakers to pursue reforms.

Wu said she envisions the new office helping parents see what seats are available across different early education and care programs, as well as connecting providers with technical assistance.

She said her "ultimate dream" is for Boston families and those looking to start a family "to know that this is a city where it will be convenient, easy and not a question whether you can find the supports to raise a child here."

Wu made her announcement outside the East Boston YMCA, where she was joined by officials including Sen. Lydia Edwards and Rep. Adrian Madaro. The mayor introduced Madaro as the "sponsor of key legislation that we are hoping to see move up at the State House."

A bill Madaro filed with Rep. Ken Gordon and Sens. Jason Lewis and Susan Moran proposes a five-year rollout of a program that would ultimately allow families earning less than half the statewide median income to access early education and child care for free, with families earning above that threshold paying up to 7 percent of their total household income.

It would also create a new direct-to-provider funding allocation, based on capacity rather than attendance.

"This is such an important issue that certainly was needed before the pandemic but the pandemic has only exacerbated the need for universal child care," Madaro said. "I have fielded calls from constituents, particularly single moms in East Boston, who have jobs waiting for them and the only reason why they can't return to the workforce is because they either cannot afford child care or access child care."

Madaro said that his family is on "a number of wait lists for child care" and that he and his wife have been able to return to work after having a baby last year because his mom cares for their nine-month-old son, Matteo.

Edwards, who like Madaro is an East Boston Democrat, said she would love to become a mother someday "but I also need my bank account to be able to match that." She said she hopes the new city office and Madaro's bill will make it easier for families who want to have children.

The bill (H 605, S 362) remains before the Education Committee, which Lewis chairs with Wellesley Rep. Alice Peisch. The panel extended its deadline to vote on that bill and other early childhood legislation until May 1.

Lewis, a Winchester Democrat, told his fellow senators earlier this month that the committee hopes to use the various bills in its custody and an anticipated March report from a commission examining early education funding as the basis to present the Senate with "a very comprehensive and strong bill to strengthen our early education and child care, as well as out-of-school-time system in Massachusetts."