Halfway There: New York’s Promise to Cut Child Poverty in Half 

2026 marks five years since New York committed to intentionally and meaningfully reducing child poverty. With five years left on the timeline, here’s what we’ve achieved, and what’s still at stake. 

In December 2021, New York State made an extraordinary public promise: cut child poverty in half within a decade. The Child Poverty Reduction Act, championed by the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, passed by the Legislature, and signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, wasn’t just aspirational language. It created a binding legal framework, a dedicated advisory council, and a clear timeline. By 2031, the share of New York children living in poverty must be reduced by 50%, and intentional actions must be taken to get there. 

That was five years ago. This year, 2026, marks the halfway point on that timeline. At this halfway point, New York should both celebrate the progress made and recommit to reaching our goal. 

What Progress Looks Like 

The past few years have brought meaningful, measurable change for New York’s families. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, with guidance from the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, the State has enacted a suite of investments that the Urban Institute estimates will reduce child poverty in New York by 17.9%. That’s a real and important start. 

Here’s what has changed for New York families since the law was enacted: 

New York made the largest expansion of the Child Tax Credit in state history, first expanding it to include children under the age of 4, and then removing the minimum income requirement that had long locked out the poorest families. The expanded Empire State Child Credit now reaches more than 1.6 million families and over 2.7 million children, roughly doubling the average credit from $472 to $943. For families with very young children, the credit now reaches $1,000 per child per year. 

New York enacted Universal School Meals, investing $340 million to ensure that every one of the state’s 2.7 million students has access to free breakfast and lunch at school, regardless of their family’s income. For many families, this eliminates over $1,600 in annual food costs. 

New York established the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), a first-in-state $50 million pilot providing rental assistance to homeless and at-risk households. Both the Senate and Assembly One House budgets this year propose expanding HAVP to $250 million total, a commitment that could help nearly 15,000 families or individuals exit or avoid homelessness. 

New York created the BABY Benefit, an innovative statewide birth grant providing $1,800 to low-income parents on Public Assistance following the birth of a child, delivering targeted support at one of the most financially vulnerable moments in a family’s life. 

In 2025, the enacted NYS budget made critical investments in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which subsidizes child care for thousands of families across the state.  

In 2026, Governor Hochul proposed historic investments in Universal Child Care for New York City and the state. This includes investments in universal pre-k statewide and bridge projects for universal child care in three counties. These investments are critical steps toward a statewide universal child care system that serves families, children, and providers. Child care is among the biggest costs facing New York families, and child care providers remain among the lowest paid workers in the state. 

These are not small steps. They reflect years of advocacy, research, partnership, and political will. These actions have already improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of New York children. The Child Poverty Reduction Act has made a difference for New York families over the past five years; our leaders must be determined to keep that work going. 

A Long Way to Go to 50% 

We are at the halfway mark on the timeline, but a 17.9% reduction in child poverty is not 50% – or even halfway to 50%. With five years remaining on the clock, New York has completed roughly one-third of the work needed to meet its legal commitment. Meanwhile, the road ahead has gotten much rougher. 

The federal government has, over the past year, enacted sweeping cuts to the very programs that New York families depend on. The federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) signed in July 2025 cuts SNAP and Medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars nationally, imposes harsh new work requirements that are expected to cause more than 300,000 New York households to lose some or all of their SNAP benefits, and shifts more than $1.4 billion in new costs to New York State. Nearly 1.8 million New Yorkers are projected to lose health insurance coverage as a result of the bill’s Medicaid changes. The federal Child Tax Credit was made nominally larger but structurally less accessible to the lowest-income families. 

In this environment, New York’s state-level commitment is essential. When the federal safety net frays, the state must protect the children most likely to fall through. 

The Next 5 Years 

The Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) has provided a clear, evidence-based roadmap. Reaching 50% requires New York to build on what it has started. The CPRAC’s recommendations include four pillars: 

Strengthen the Child Tax Credit. The Empire State Child Credit should be increased to $1,500 per child per year for all children ages 0 through 18 and indexed to inflation so that its value doesn’t erode over time. Crucially, New York must also invest in tax preparation assistance and outreach, because research shows that the lowest-income families, the very people the credit is designed to help, are the least likely to know it exists or to file their taxes to claim it. 

Reform Cash Assistance. New York’s Cash Assistance program has not kept pace with the real cost of living. CPRAC recommends doubling the basic allowance and indexing it to inflation. This would provide meaningful relief to the state’s most economically vulnerable families. Accompanying reforms to remove punitive sanctions, eliminate asset tests, and extend earned income disregards to applicants would help more working families access the program and build toward stability. 

Make the Housing Access Voucher Program permanent. The pilot was a critical first step. A $250 million investment in HAVP, made permanent and expanded, would transform housing access for tens of thousands of New York families living at the edge of homelessness. 

Establish a state food benefit. Federal SNAP rules exclude many New York families based on immigration status. A state-funded food benefit would ensure that all income-eligible households with children can access the food they need, regardless of where they were born. 

The Stakes 

Nearly one in six New York households with children experienced food insecurity in 2024. Roughly 895,000 children were living in poverty when the Child Poverty Reduction Act was signed. Structural inequities mean that Black and Latino children are significantly more likely to experience poverty than their white peers. And the research is unambiguous: poverty in early childhood doesn’t just limit opportunity, it can shape developing brains, creating challenges that follow children for the rest of their lives. 

New York made a promise. Five years in, with five years to go, the state has demonstrated that progress is possible. While the work is far from finished, we have the policy map to get us there. This halfway mark is a moment to recommit, and to do so with determination. 

The Child Poverty Reduction Act gave New York a framework, a timeline, and a mandate. Now it needs ongoing investments and actions that match the ambition of that promise.
 

New York Can End Child Poverty is a coalition of organizations working to improve outcomes for children, families, and individuals experiencing economic hardship. Learn more at newyorkcan.org. 

Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy is a statewide, nonprofit, policy analysis and advocacy organization working to shape New York State policies to improve health, welfare and human services for all New Yorkers, especially children and families experiencing poverty. 

Schuyler Center is a leader in advocating for policy solutions that address child poverty and its related hardships, including spearheading the NYS Child Poverty Reduction Act and its implementation, advocating for a robust child tax credit, prioritizing universal child care, advocating for a family-centered child welfare system, and advancing state investments that support child and family wellbeing. In 2026, Schuyler Center was selected as the New York State KIDSCOUNT partner by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.