To achieve universal child care, New York must invest in the child care workforce. Ongoing, publicly funded compensation supplements are the only way to raise compensation without increasing tuition, which is already too high for most families to afford. A fairly-paid child care workforce is vital to ensure the continuity of care and nurturing, culturally-responsive interactions that children need to thrive.
The Challenge
Educators and support staff are the heart and soul of child care, and yet, most are paid poverty wages and minimal benefits. Child care in New York (and across the nation) is a public-private market. Programs are financed primarily by tuition paid by parents, along with public Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) subsidies paid on behalf of some lower-income families; neither are sufficient to pay the child care workforce a thriving wage. Inadequate wages and benefits have made it challenging for programs to recruit and retain staff, which in turn has resulted in many programs operating at less than full licensed capacity, deepening the state’s existing capacity shortfall.
What We Know
The child care workforce and the children they care for are negatively impacted by the inadequate compensation paid to child care educators and support staff. Children benefit from consistent, high-quality interactions with well-prepared, well supported educators.1 Unfortunately, turnover in early childhood education is extraordinarily high due in large part to low wages and minimal access to benefits.2 High turnover can cause children—especially young children—to experience anxiety and stress because they cannot bond with their caregivers, and can interfere with children’s social-emotional development, including self-regulation skills.3
The median wage of child care educators in New York—a workforce that identifies as 94% women, and majority people of color—is $37,675/annually or $18.11/hour. They earn less than 96% of occupations in New York State.4 In 2025, many educators essentially experienced a pay cut because New York ended bonuses it began providing the child care workforce during the pandemic.
Staffing shortages driven by low workforce compensation make it difficult for New York families to find child care that meets their needs in their communities. While total licensed child care capacity in New York State has slightly surpassed pre-pandemic levels, home-based child care capacity is continuing a long decline. The families most impacted by this decline are those residing in rural communities, Black and brown families, and families needing care during the early mornings, nights, and weekends.6, 7 Further, licensed capacity does not tell the full story because many licensed slots are left unfilled due to staffing shortages.8
State Policy Solutions
Create a state-funded child care worker compensation supplement to move all members of the workforce closer to wage parity with members of the public school workforce. This fund can sunset once universal child care is fully implemented, and paying rates high enough to pay the workforce a thriving wage.
Develop a plan to establish a minimum pay scale and career ladder based on agreed-upon criteria to inform compensation levels.
Establish a health insurance premium support program for child care workers; ensure New York child care workers on Medicaid have guidance to meet all new requirements
This year, I had to cut my staff’s salaries after New York discontinued the workforce grants it paid to child care programs in 2023 and 2024. Some couldn’t afford to stay and left for better-paying jobs. These devoted educators love their work—but love doesn’t pay the bills.
Schuyler Center’s annual State of New York’s Children Data Bookprovides a data snapshot of the wellbeing of New York’s children and families and the challenges New York families are facing. Having good data is imperative to identifying the right policy solutions.
On January 13, Schuyler Center’s policy team presented the latest data and policy recommendations around child and family wellbeing in New York State.
New York children, over 18%, experienced poverty in 2023
%
of New York children experienced food insecurity in 2023
%
of 2024 reports to CPS were deemed unfounded (93,061)
children received child care assistance in September 2025, a 25% increase from the year prior
In 2023, approximately 731,672 New York children, over 18%, experienced poverty, compared to 16% nationally.
New York State ranks 40th in the nation for child poverty.
The 2021 pandemic expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit dramatically and quickly cut child poverty nearly in half nationally and in New York State. When that expansion and other pandemic supports ended, child poverty rates resurged and surpassed pre-pandemic rates.
Child care is the largest monthly bill for many families, costing an average of:
$3,149 per month for an infant and a 4-year-old in a child care center ($37,782 per year)
$1,368/month for an infant in family- based child care ($16,415 per year)
$2,217/month for two school-age children in family-based afterschool care ($26,598 per year)
The average wage for a child care worker in New York $37,675/annual / $18.11/hour.
Family child care educators, a workforce that is 94% women and largely people of color, earn less than 96% of occupations statewide.
According to the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, approximately 168,600 children received child care assistance in September 2025. In contrast, there are more than one million New York children eligible for child care assistance.
The percentage of Medicaid-Enrolled New York children who had at least one dental visit within the last year exceeded 50% just once in the last decade.
Medicaid and Child Health Plus cover 44% of all NYS children and nearly 80% of children in poverty.
Over 143,000 New York families were subjected to CPS investigations in 2024.
75.9%(93,061) of reports filed with the Statewide Central Register in 2024 were unfounded.
We are excited to launch the Schuyler Center New York State Child Poverty Live Map. The interactive map is a tool for advocates and the public to access local data on child poverty rates in their communities.
The project is the result of a partnership between Schuyler Center and Skidmore College’s Advanced GIS Spring 2025 class. The students created a detailed map of New York State to explore child poverty datapoints by New York State Senate districts, Assembly districts, and Zip codes. The map enables users to select datapoints to view, including:
Percent of Households Below Poverty
Percent of Households with Children Under 18
Percent of Households on SNAP Below Poverty Level
Percent of Households on SNAP with Children Under 18
Percent of Households on SNAP by Racial Demographics
Data is of utmost importance as a resource for community and state leaders guiding them in making important policy decisions to better serve their constituents. It provides the evidence needed to spur action, have informed conversations, or provide insights into the effects of public policy.
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. (2023). Food Stamps/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). American Community Survey, ACS 1-Year Estimates Subject Tables, Table S2201. Retrieved from: https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2023.S2201
Oral health plays a critical role in a person’s overall health and wellbeing, yet many New Yorkers face limited access to the oral health services they need. Identifying where these needs are most acute can help guide resource allocation to fill service gaps.
A new report, released by the Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health, indicates that improving access to oral health services in New York State requires a broader understanding of oral health needs and the challenges that underserved populations face. The study, conducted by CHWS and funded by the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy (SCAA), identified geographic areas throughout the state with the highest oral health needs.
“This research study quantifies factors that contribute to unmet need for oral health services,” said Jean Moore, CHWS Director. “These findings can strengthen policy discussions, identifying strategies that can effectively meet the state’s unmet oral health needs. Policies that prioritize education, socioeconomic support and workforce expansion can help improve access to oral health services, particularly for the underserved.”
The research team identified 31 high-need areas with significant oral health needs, primarily located in rural regions such as the Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier, where more than two-thirds of the population live in high-need areas. Similarly, over one-third of the population of the Central New York region resides in high-need areas. The Long Island, Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes regions show the lowest percentages of high-need areas and the smallest proportion of the population living in these areas.
To determine the areas of greatest need, researchers analyzed 15 sociodemographic and oral health indicators that influence the level of need for oral health services. They found that factors such as disabilities/special needs, level of education, pregnancy and the relative number of dentists and dental hygienists per capita were the most important indicators connected with need. Other factors in the analysis included water fluorination, obtaining preventive oral health services, age, smoking and drinking habits, cancer diagnosis, minority status and English proficiency.
“This new data confirms the tremendous unmet need for preventive and routine oral health services in New York populations, especially New Yorkers with low income,” said Kate Breslin, president and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy. “Poor oral health and dental pain impacts a person’s ability to live a full life, and a lack of access to oral health care is a matter of health equity. In the coming month, Schuyler Center will be researching and analyzing the data around policy solutions that promote oral health equity statewide, especially in the high-need regions identified in this report. Central to those solutions is bolstering the oral health workforce.”
About the Future Oral Health Workforce Project
Schuyler Center has been awarded a grant from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health to develop recommendations addressing the tremendous unmet need for preventive and routine oral health services in New York populations, especially New Yorkers with low income. The project is focused on increasing the availability of care by identifying comprehensive changes to policies that address the state’s significant oral health workforce shortage.
As part of this project, the 2024 oral health needs assessment aims to improve access to oral health services in New York by identifying areas with the highest oral health needs and addressing access barriers, particularly for underserved and vulnerable populations. This study adopts a community-centric approach, analyzing oral health and social indicators at the local level to provide a comprehensive understanding of need.
The findings advocate for policy changes to expand the oral health workforce, in order to benefit low-income populations, children, individuals with disabilities, and the elderly. The assessment underscores the importance of social and oral health factors and provides critical insights for policymakers to develop strategies aimed at reducing oral health disparities and promoting equitable oral health outcomes across New York.
Funding for this report was provided to the Center for Health Workforce Studies by the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy through a grant from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
From poverty reduction to child health, from child care to child welfare, several themes emerged across issues: affordability of housing, child care, food, and other basic needs; inequities based on race, ethnicity, immigration status, and gender holding families back; benefit cliffs and other barriers that keep people from gaining ground; and workforce shortages that impact everyone. These are all systemic problems that require systemic solutions.
We know that investment and improvements in key policy areas can transform lives, increase opportunities, and eliminate barriers to well-being. At a time when families are leaving New York, the right investments can keep families here: learning, growing, playing, working, and contributing to the future of our state.
Healthy children and supported families are the foundation of a thriving society—these are the investments that pay off for everyone, now and for generations to come. No matter the fiscal challenges facing New York State, our children should never be denied the services and supports they need to thrive, especially those children from low-income, Black, brown, immigrant and other historically marginalized communities.
Key Data Points and Takeaways:
Immigration:During the period October 1, 2022 through August 2023, approximately 150,000 immigrants have newly arrived in New York, many fleeing violence in their home countries. Among them are more than 30,000 children, nearly a third of whom are babies and toddlers under the age of five.
Child poverty in New York State exceeds the national rate, as it has for more than a decade. In 2022, approximately 734,756 New York State children, over 18%, experienced poverty, as measured by the Federal Poverty Level. Those rates are significantly higher in many areas around the state—some urban, some rural, some suburban. For instance, nearly 35% of children in Bronx County and more than 28% in Oswego County live in poverty.2 Among the large New York cities with the highest child poverty rates in New York are Syracuse (46%), Rochester (42%), and Binghamton (41%).
Child Tax Credits:New York State has two refundable tax credits for families: the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Empire State Child Credit. The current structure of both excludes the lowest income families from receiving the maximum credit through their use of an income-based phase-in which results in those most in need of financial support receiving the smallest credit, or none at all. Further, New York’s EITC excludes immigrant taxpayers who file using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) rather than a Social Security Number.
Medicaid for children: Forty-five percent of New York children are covered by Medicaid/CHP. Four out of five low-income children are covered by Medicaid/CHP.
Child Welfare: Over 76.1% of reports to the Child Protective Services State Central Register are unfounded, a determination made only after the child and family have undergone an invasive, stressful, often traumatic investigation.
Child Care educators earn less than 96% of occupations in New York State. A March 2023 survey of child care providers found that staffing shortages greatly diminished programs’ ability to operate at full licensed capacity, with 28,462 licensed or registered slots empty statewide from 1,600 respondents due to insufficient staffing from uncompetitive wages.
Recurring themes: From poverty reduction to child health, from child care to child welfare, several themes emerge across issues: affordability of housing, child care, food, and other basic needs; inequities based on race, ethnicity, immigration status, and gender holding families back; benefit cliffs and other barriers that keep people from gaining ground; and workforce shortages that impact everyone.
Last week, the U.S. Census reported that the child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022, from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022.
This news is especially devastating following the historically low child poverty rates brought about by the expanded federal Child Tax Credit, proving once again that poverty is a policy choice. We know that child tax credits designed with intention can drastically reduce child poverty rates by providing meaningful assistance to families.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “One of the largest causes of this year’s jump in children’s poverty was the expiration of the 2021 [federal] Child Tax Credit expansion. Renewing this 2021 credit would have kept about 3 million children above the poverty line in 2022…avoiding more than half of the actual jump in the child poverty rate.”
In New York State, the child poverty rate has hovered just above and just below 20% for decades, with Black and Latino children significantly more likely to experience poverty than their white peers.
While the federal expanded Child Tax Credit was allowed to expire, New York’s Empire State Child Tax Credit has the potential to play a pivotal role in achieving New York’s child poverty reduction goals. Last year, Schuyler Center and our poverty-fighting partners successfully advocated for an expansion of the Empire State Child Tax Credit to include children and babies ages 0-3. But to make New York State’s child tax credit as powerful and inclusive as possible, the State must increase the credit amount and end the exclusion of children experiencing deep poverty by removing the phase in that applies to the lowest income families.
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