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Press Release: 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book Shows New York State Ranks 30th

Press Release: 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book Shows New York State Ranks 30th

by | Jun 8, 2026 | Data, KIDS COUNT, News

PRESS RELEASE
June 8, 2026

Contact: Nicole Correia, (518) 463-1896 x131, ncorreia@scaany.org  

2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book Shows New York State Ranks 30th Schuyler Center Urges Investment in Kids, Families, & Communities 

New Scoring Index to Increase Accountability By Showing How New York’s Policies and Investment Affect Children’s Daily Lives 

Data release event on Tuesday, June 9 at 9am in Albany. Details and registration here.

ALBANY, NEW YORK — New York State ranks eighth in child health, according to the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, a 50-state report of recent data compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how kids are faring nationwide.  

While New York remains strong in child health, it ranks 30th in the nation overall. The data shows New York State leaders must do more to support economic wellbeing (rank 46), housing affordability (rank 46), and child poverty (rank 38).  View Schuyler Center’s KIDS COUNT Data page.

These rankings highlight the need for attention to the policies recommended by the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, including further expansion of the state child tax credit; a robust, permanent Housing Access Voucher Program; and investments toward child care for every family.  

For the first time this year, states receive a comprehensive score (from 0 to 1,000) in the Data Book, not just a ranking. The scores track 16 indicators in four domains — economic wellbeing, education, health, and family and community factors — over a five-year period from 2019 to 2024. The new scoring system shows whether policies and public investment are actually improving children’s lives, not merely how states compare to each other. 

New York State received a score of 558, just above the national score of 547, with highest scores in the child health domain where New York scores 768 out of 1,000 and ranks 8th in the nation, highlighting the fact that only 3% of New York children are uninsured.  

New York’s lowest scores, however, fall in the economic wellbeing domain, where New York scores just 406 out of 1,000. In particular, the data show that approximately 700,000, or 18% of New York children live in poverty, while 37% of children in New York live in households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing.  

“New York has made a commitment to reducing child poverty, but a ranking of 30th in the nation should be a wake-up call. A state with our resources and our values should be a national leader for children and families, and we are not there yet. The data are clear: New York must invest in family economic security, child care, children’s health, and child welfare if we are going to make good on our promise to cut child poverty in half by 2031. The good news is we know what works. We need the political will to do it.” said Kate Breslin, president and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, New York’s member of the Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT network. 

In its 37th year of publication, the KIDS COUNT® Data Book provides reliable statewide numbers to help leaders see where progress is being made, where greater support is needed and which strategies are making a difference.  

Schuyler Center encourages New York’s lawmakers and officials to use this detailed information to unite across party lines and respond with initiatives that invest in young people. By offering a state-specific road map, the Data Book equips policymakers, advocates, and communities with the information they need to make decisions that help kids and young people thrive. 

“Behind every number in this report is a child who is either hungry or fed, housed or homeless, progressing academically or falling behind. No state is consistently getting this right,” said Lisa M. Lawson, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “The Data Book challenges us to follow the evidence and do what delivers results.”  

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DATA RELEASE INFORMATION 

The 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book will be available at www.aecf.org/databook. Journalists interested in creating maps, graphs and rankings in stories about the Data Book can use the KIDS COUNT Data Center at datacenter.aecf.org. 

ABOUT THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION 

The Annie E. Casey Foundation creates a brighter future for the nation’s young people by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org. KIDS COUNT is a registered trademark of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. 

ABOUT THE SCHUYLER CENTER FOR ANALYSIS AND ADVOCACY  
For more than 150 years, the Schuyler Center has led advocacy rooted in compassion, evidence, and belief that government should work for the greater good. Schuyler Center’s work acknowledges the historic inequities woven throughout shared systems, and advocates for public policies and investments that seek to address those inequities while improving health, welfare, and human services for all New Yorkers, with a focus on children and families experiencing poverty.  

Schuyler Center’s advocacy has advanced policies that reduce child poverty, build a universal child care system, promote child health and wellbeing, and transform the child welfare system.  

Schuyler Center achieves its goals through creative and detailed data and policy analysis, coalition building, and advocacy with elected officials, agency executives, policymakers, and stakeholders. Learn more at https://scaany.org 

Schuyler Center Selected as New York State Partner in KIDS COUNT Network 

Schuyler Center Selected as New York State Partner in KIDS COUNT Network 

by | Apr 6, 2026 | Data, News

Press Release


Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy has announced that it will be serving as the KIDS COUNT partner for New York State in 2026 and beyond.  

Schuyler Center 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. Dedicated to public policy solutions that improve the wellbeing of New York’s families, Schuyler Center takes a data-driven approach to identify challenges, generate solutions, and hold government accountable. 

As a new KIDS COUNT partner organization, Schuyler Center will grow its capacity to make a difference for New York’s children by tracking data and serving as a resource on the key indicators of child wellbeing. KIDS COUNT is a platform of the Annie E. Casey Foundation that provides legislators, public officials, and child advocates with reliable data, policy recommendations, and tools to advance policies that benefit children and youth. Each state — as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — is represented by a KIDS COUNT partner that operates independently from the Casey Foundation. 

Schuyler Center is a trusted source of data related to New York’s children, youth, and families. The annual State of New York’s Children Data Book includes statewide and county-level data in the areas of child care, child poverty, food insecurity, child health, oral health, and child welfare. Schuyler Center’s data analysis will benefit from the expansion into the role of KIDS COUNT partner. 

“We are proud to join the KIDS COUNT network as the New York State partner and to deepen our commitment to the children and families who depend on sound, evidence-based policy. For decades, Schuyler Center has worked to ensure that data drives decisions affecting New York’s kids — and this partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation gives us powerful new tools and a national platform to do that work even more effectively,” said Kate Breslin, Schuyler Center president and CEO. “At a moment when children and families are facing enormous challenges, we are proud to stand alongside KIDS COUNT partners across the country in understanding and sharing data and policy levers that give every child the opportunity to thrive.” 

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a Baltimore-based national philanthropy organization, creates a brighter future for the nation’s young people by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity, and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work, and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org. 

About the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy  
For more than 150 years, the Schuyler Center has led advocacy rooted in compassion, evidence, and belief that government should work for the greater good. Schuyler Center’s work acknowledges the historic inequities woven throughout shared systems, and advocates for public policies and investments that seek to address those inequities while improving health, welfare, and human services for all New Yorkers, with a focus on children and families experiencing poverty.  

Schuyler Center’s advocacy has advanced policies that reduce child poverty, build a universal child care system, promote child health and wellbeing, and transform the child welfare system.  

 Schuyler Center achieves its goals through creative and detailed data and policy analysis, coalition building, and advocacy with elected officials, agency executives, policymakers, and stakeholders. Learn more at https://scaany.org 

Upholding New York’s Commitment to Reduce Child Poverty

Upholding New York’s Commitment to Reduce Child Poverty

by | Mar 3, 2026 | Data, News

The Promise

All children in New York State should grow up free from the hardships of poverty. Recognizing this, New York leaders enacted the landmark Child Poverty Reduction Act (CPRA), committing in statute to halve child poverty by 2031. At the end of 2024, the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council released policy recommendations to drive the State toward its statutory goal. Now is the time for New York leaders to implement these recommendations and meet the state’s child poverty reduction commitment.

The Challenge

As the federal government acts to eliminate support for low-income families, New York’s leaders must ensure every family has access to the resources they need to thrive. The New York State 2025-26 budget included significant investments to reduce child poverty. These steps toward economic security for all New York families must be followed by further intentional investments focused on low-income children. In 2026, those investments will be crucial to protect New York’s children from the harms of federal actions while making New York State the best place to raise a child.

What We Know

Child poverty in New York State continues to exceed the national rate, as it has for more than a decade. In 2023, approximately 731,672 New York children, over 18%, experienced poverty.1 Those rates are significantly higher in many areas around the state—some urban, some rural, some suburban. Nearly 35% of children in Bronx County and more than 25% in Oswego County live in poverty.2 Child poverty rates in many New York cities far exceed the state average rate, with the highest child poverty rates among large and moderate-sized cities reaching 46% in Syracuse, 42% in Binghamton, and 41% in both Troy and Rochester.3 Due to systemic, historic, and ongoing racism embedded in public systems, Black and brown children experience poverty at much higher rates than children who are white.

Income inequality in the state has continued to increase, with wages increasing by the highest percentage for the highest income earners and the lowest percentage for the lowest income New Yorkers from 2023 to 2024.4 Households in the highest-income quintile (top 20%) have income that is 20 times higher than the lowest-income quintile (bottom 20%).5 Income inequality in New York, as measured by the Gini coefficient, ties with Washington, D.C. for worst in the nation.6 Income inequality has real impacts on children and families and has been shown to result in poorer health outcomes for low-income individuals, and increased stress and anxiety.7

State Policy Solutions

 

In 2026, federal program and funding changes will disproportionately hurt low-income children, families, and communities. That means it is more important than ever for New York State to proactively address systemic inequities and invest in initiatives that support healthy and thriving children, resourced families, and safe and welcoming communities. All New York children should grow up free from the stress and strains of poverty.

Solutions proven to support families and combat child poverty include providing:

  • Robust, refundable tax credits and cash assistance;
  • Housing and nutritional supports for all families, no matter where they were born;
  • Child care assistance for all families, regardless of immigration status, work hours, or minimum earnings, inclusive of children with disabilities; and
  • Resources and services for families that are free from unnecessary, overly-intrusive administrative burdens. These should be structured to phase out gradually to minimize benefits cliffs that too often send families right back into economic insecurity upon receiving a modest income bump.

People are just struggling all around, no matter your background. So to me that speaks to a systemic issue more so than an individual choice.

—Parent, Monroe County

More Data on the State of New York's Children

1 U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months. American Community Survey, ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables, Table S1701 [data set]. 

Note: Due to a delay in the release of ACS 5-year estimates, originally scheduled to release in December 2025, this analysis uses the 2023 ACS 5-year Estimates.
2 U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months. American Community Survey, ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables, Table S1701 [data set]. 
3 U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months. American Community Survey, ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables, Table S1701 [data set]. 
4 Gusdorf, N. (2025). New Data Show Rising Inequality, Strong Wage Growth for Top Earners. Fiscal Policy Institute.
5 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Consumer Expenditure Surveys, New York: Quintiles of income before taxes, 2022-2023.
6 SHADAC. (n.d.) State Health Compare: Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient).
7 Avanceña, A. L. V., DeLuca, E. K., Iott, B., Mauri, A., Miller, N., Eisenberg, D., & Hutton, D. W. (2021). Income and Income Inequality Are a Matter of Life and Death. What Can Policymakers Do About It?.

*For all sources and computations, go to: https://scaany.org/sonyc-sources-2026

Creating Economic Opportunity for Families through Tax Credits and Cash Benefits

Creating Economic Opportunity for Families through Tax Credits and Cash Benefits

by | Feb 18, 2026 | Child Poverty, Data, Family Economic Security, News

The Promise

All children should grow up free from the stress of poverty. Robust tax relief for New York’s families is among the most effective and equitable ways for the State to fulfill its commitment to reduce child poverty and build economic opportunity for all families. Cash benefits for families—particularly for those welcoming a new child—provide flexible support when their need is greatest.

The Challenge

For far too long, too many families across New York State have faced economic hardship. New York’s child poverty rates have been among the highest in the nation for nearly a decade; families across the state struggle to afford essentials like housing and food. 

What We Know

Research shows that cash and near-cash benefits (such as refundable tax credits) improve families’ economic stability, child development, and parent and child health.1

In fact, when the Federal Child Tax Credit was temporarily expanded in 2021 in response to the Covid-19 crisis, child poverty rates dropped dramatically, both nationally and in New York State.2 Congress allowed the expanded Federal Child Tax Credit to expire, ending that relief for families. One year later, child poverty rates nationally and in New York State surpassed pre-pandemic levels; two years later, they remained essentially unchanged.

The U.S. Census Bureau measures poverty two ways. The Supplemental Poverty Measure is
considered by many experts to be more accurate and comprehensive because it takes into account family resources and expenses not included in the official measure, geographic variation, and the value of in-kind benefits like food assistance, subsidized housing, and tax credits. In contrast, the official poverty measure looks solely at income, without regard to other incoming resources, or varied costs.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2022)

Additional, reliable income helps families meet household needs. Surveys conducted during the pandemic-era expansion of the Federal Child Tax Credit found that the most common ways families used the additional funds were for food, child care, school-related expenses, and to pay down debt.3

Progress Made

New York State expanded its Empire State Child Credit in the State 2025-26 Budget, increasing the amount and eliminating the income phase-in that had previously excluded New Yorkers with very low incomes from receiving the full credit. This expansion was recommended by the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, the body convened in 2021 to guide the state to achieve its statutory commitment to cut child poverty in half by 2031, and built upon an expansion implemented in tax year (TY) 2023 to include children under age 4 in the credit. In tax year (TY) 2023, 1,451,132 Empire State Child Credit claims were filed; 2,429,901 children received the credit; the average credit amount for a family with two children was $572. 4

The increase in my family’s child tax credit will help me afford the things my children need throughout the year: child care during a school break, winter coats, or helping put food on the table without sacrificing the mortgage payment.

- Parent, Schenectady

State Policy Solutions

 

To continue making progress toward its child poverty reduction goal, New York can and must strengthen tax relief and expand cash benefits for families by:

  • Increasing the maximum Empire State Child Credit amount to $1,500 per child per year for children under 18, as recommended by the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, to meaningfully impact family budgets and reduce child poverty;
  • Indexing the credit to inflation so families receive the full value of the credit over time;
  • Investing in free tax preparation assistance and public awareness campaigns to ensure families receive all tax credits to which they are entitled; and
  • Exploring expansions of the new BABY Benefit and other cash benefits to provide more support to families facing affordability challenges
More Data on the State of New York's Children
  1. Early Learning Nation. (2025). Cash Transfers: A Proven Strategy to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families
  2. Wilson, D., Collyer, S., Hardy, B., & Wimer, C. (2023). State-Level Poverty Impacts of the Child Tax Credit in 2021.
  3. Educational Alliance and United Neighborhood Houses. (2022). Settlement House American Rescue Plan Impact Study: Wave 1 Report
  4. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. (2025). Empire State Child Credit Study by Filing Status: Beginning 2017.
  5. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. (2023). Instructions for Form IT-213 Claim for Empire State Child Credit.
  6. The Children’s Agenda. (2025). Explaining Governor Hochul’s Proposal to Expand the Empire State Child Credit.
  7. Governor Kathy Hochul. (2024). Governor Hochul Announces Checks are on the Way to New Yorkers Receiving Child Tax Credit Payments.
  8. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. (2025). Empire State child credit.
  9. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. (2025). Empire State child credit.
  10. Governor Kathy Hochul. (2025). Money In Your Pockets: Governor Hochul Proposes Sweeping Expansion of the Child Tax Credit to Deliver Up to $1,000 Per Child.

*For all sources and computations, go to: https://scaany.org/sonyc-sources-2026

Moving from Analysis to Action: New Report Charts Path for Oral Health Workforce Reform  

Moving from Analysis to Action: New Report Charts Path for Oral Health Workforce Reform  

by | Feb 11, 2026 | Data, News, Oral Health

After a year of statewide convenings and workgroup discussions, the Schuyler Center has released Moving Oral Health Workforce Reform into Practice, a roadmap for translating policy into accessible care across New York State. 

More than 5 million New Yorkers live in dental shortage areas. 43% face major barriers to dental care. But here’s the critical point: New York already has many necessary policy tools in place. The challenge is implementation, not authorization. Too many reforms remain on paper while people navigate pain, missed school and work, and worsening health. 

From Vision to Action 

Following the release of our 2025 Barriers to Bridges report, more than 100 providers, consumers, advocates, policymakers, and researchers spent five months in workgroups identifying concrete steps to strengthen the workforce. They focused on areas where needs are high, policy authority already exists or is within reach, and there’s clear potential to expand access. 

 

Read the Report

What’s in the Report 

The report presents ready-now strategies sequenced by implementation feasibility: 

  • Teledentistry can be deployed immediately using existing providers and infrastructure. Recommendations focus on establishing a practice and innovation center and developing comprehensive state standards. 
  • Early Childhood prevention offers the highest return on investment. Recommendations include building a coordinated training pathway through existing systems families already trust—WIC, Head Start, pediatric care. 
  • Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities recommendations address some of the deepest access barriers by making existing Medicaid codes functional, creating care coordination tools, and strengthening provider training. 
  • Care Capacity outlines the structural workforce reforms required to sustain these approaches, including authorizing dental therapy (one of the only recommendations requiring legislation and the only strategy that adds new treatment capacity), implementing the 2025 collaborative practice dental hygiene law, and expanding community-based workforce roles. 
  • Cross-cutting recommendations align Medicaid policy, expand fluoride varnish access, and embedding oral health into non-dental systems to scale prevention statewide. 

What’s Required 

Most recommendations can be implemented without legislative action. Many require only coordination, clear guidance, and modest starter funding. The report outlines specific roles for state agencies and philanthropy to accelerate progress. 

Waiting is not a strategy. These recommendations focus on what can be done now. 

Ensuring Oral Health Care for All Children

Ensuring Oral Health Care for All Children

by | Feb 9, 2026 | Data, News, Oral Health

The Promise

All children should have the opportunity to grow up free from the pain and long-term consequences of dental disease, regardless of income, race, or country of origin. Families require accessible and affordable preventive care and treatment to support optimal oral health throughout childhood. Expanding access to oral health care will improve childhood health and wellbeing overall and set New York children on a path to be healthier as adults.

The Challenge

Although children’s oral health care has improved over recent decades, cavities remain the most common chronic condition of childhood.1 One key reason the prevalence of dental caries persists is a persistent shortage of dental providers. When families cannot find a dentist that accepts their insurance or is located in their area, they often postpone preventive and surgical dental care, which can result in the need to eventually seek care in an emergency room.2

Insurance coverage is also crucial for accessing oral health care. Looking ahead, impending cuts to Medicaid funding and imposition of work reporting and other requirements for adults, are expected to result in thousands of children losing coverage. Studies have shown that parental health insurance continuity is integral to maintaining children’s insurance coverage.3

What We Know

Disparities in dental disease are significant, stemming from the same social and economic determinants that drive broader health inequities, including poverty, racism, education, access to nutritious food, cultural norms, and environmental conditions.4

A persistent shortage of dental providers—particularly those who accept public coverage—contributes to poor oral health outcomes for children.

One significant barrier to ensuring broad access to oral health care—including to those groups traditionally underserved— is the shortage of dental providers who accept public insurance and the limited availability of providers in low-income and rural areas.5 In addition, gaps in language access and cultural competence restrict care for immigrant and refugee populations.6

Most oral health conditions in children are preventable, and preventive services for children are covered by both Medicaid and commercial insurance. However, insurance coverage does not guarantee access when local provider capacity is insufficient or when providers decline to accept public coverage.7 For example, in most years over the last decade, less than half of New York children enrolled in Medicaid received a dental service annually.

Pregnant individuals experience unique risks but limited access.

Physiological changes during pregnancy increase vulnerability to oral disease, and inadequate care during this period can adversely affect both maternal and infant health.8 Yet, many pregnant people encounter difficulty obtaining timely and appropriate oral health services. In 2022, 18.8% of pregnant women reported needing dental care for a problem and just 14.4% reported going to a dentist or dental clinic for a problem during pregnancy.9

State Policy Solutions

 

  •  Permit parents/caregivers and medical assistants in primary care, clinic, and other settings to apply fluoride varnish under the guidance of a licenses provider.
  • Create a teledental task force to promote services and expand care in underserved areas.
  • Sustain and strengthen community water fluoridation.
  • Establish pilot programs in pediatric and obstetric/gynecologic settings to integrate oral health screening, preventive care, and referral to dental providers.
  • Authorize dental therapists, a mid-level provider, to practice in New York.
  • Create an oral health training program for community health workers so they may become members of oral health teams.

[I would like to see] more providers that reflect the communities that they work in or that they are living in. We need a lot more representation and we need to also break those barriers that make it very, very hard for diverse communities to enter those fields because of financial reasons or just…systemic biases.

Medicaid Beneficiary and Advocate

More Data on the State of New York's Children

1 Crall. J.J., & Vujicic, M. (2020). Children’s Oral Health: Progress, Policy Development, And Priorities For Continued Improvement.
2 Chalmers, N.I., Wislar, J.S., Hall, M., Thurm, C., Ng, M.W. (2018). Trends in Pediatric Dental Care Use.
3 Yamauchi, M., Carlson, M.J., Wright, B.J. et al. (2013). Does Health Insurance Continuity Among Low-income Adults Impact Their Children’s Insurance Coverage?. Maternal Child Health J 17, 248–255.
4 Krol, D.M., & Whelan, K. (2023). Maintaining and Improving the Oral Health of Young Children. American Academy of Pediatrics.
5 National Institute of Health. (2021). Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges.
6 Le, H., Hirota, S., Liou, J., Sitlin, T., Le, C., & Quach, T. (2017). Oral Health Disparities and Inequities in Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
7 National Institute of Health. (2021). Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges.
8 Hartnett, E., Haber, J., Krainovich-Miller, B., Bella, A., Vasilyeva, A., & Kessler, J. L. (2016). Oral Health in Pregnancy.
9 New York State Department of Health. (2022). Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.

*For all sources and computations, go to: https://scaany.org/sonyc-sources-2026