On May 27, 2026, the Governor signed into law the 2026-27 New York State Enacted Budget. Schuyler Center’s Last Look is our initial assessment of the enacted State budget and how it advances priorities that improve the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers, especially children and families living in poverty. The dollar amounts included in this document—and all of Schuyler Center “Looks”—reflect budget appropriations, or “spending authority.” Appropriations tell us the maximum spending authority permitted by the State, which is often much greater than what the State actually spends. Actual state expenditures are more closely reflected in the financial plan which will be released in a few weeks.
This year’s budget makes key investments that will support children experiencing poverty but will likely not be bold enough to protect families from the full impact of federal cuts and rising costs. The Enacted Budget makes meaningful investments in child care, including record funding for child care assistance, pre-K, and universal child care pilot programs, and includes new protections for immigrant families, some new funding for legal services, and inclusion of New York City in funding for Raise the Age services. It does not include new investments in health coverage, nutrition supports, Early Intervention Services, and WIC funding.
“I was afraid of having a child because of the financial responsibilities…I took maternity leave, and the number one thing that I recognized to be a consistent problem is food—always figuring out what to do, how can we feed her? [Now with WIC] it’s just a lot more enjoyable having access [to fresh fruits and vegetables].”
– United for Brownsville Parent
Few public health programs have earned their place the way WIC has. Decades of research, billions of dollars in documented savings, and generations of healthier children make the case plainly: WIC works. As federal support for families erodes—with cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and other safety net programs—New York’s WIC program stands out as exactly the kind of investment the state should be doubling down on: proven, cost-effective, and life-changing for the families it serves. But WIC is at a breaking point, and without action in this year’s budget, the progress New York has worked hard to achieve is at risk.
The Nation’s Original “Food Is Medicine” Program
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has delivered one of public health’s best track records for more than five decades. WIC provides pregnant and postpartum parents and children under five with tailored nutrition packages, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and connections to health and social services.
The evidence is overwhelming. WIC improves birth outcomes, reduces infant mortality, prevents childhood obesity, and closes disparities in infant health. Every dollar invested generates an estimated $2.48 in savings through lower medical costs and better long-term outcomes. Last year, WIC-prescribed purchases brought back $540 million federal dollars into New York’s local economies.
For families who rely on it, the impact is deeply personal. As one mother shared, “My children wouldn’t be eating healthy food if it weren’t for my education and assistance from the WIC program. I am a young mom who had lots of questions over the years, I was always treated very well by people who genuinely cared and wanted to help.”
New York Is Leading
New York deserves credit for its commitment to WIC. More than 462,000 New Yorkers now participate—the highest level in a decade and a 28% increase since early 2020, compared to 10% growth nationally. That expansion came from evidence-based policy: increasing the fruit and vegetable benefit, allowing remote appointments, and investing in strategic statewide outreach.
But local WIC agencies have not seen meaningful funding increases in a decade. The federal formula hasn’t kept pace with New York’s rising caseloads or costs. The funding system was designed to support 443,000 participants through 2028; caseloads surpassed that in early 2024. Since 2022, the ratio of participants to qualified nutritionists has grown 24%—now sitting at 656 to one.
WIC at its best means a nutritionist with time to sit with new parents, food packages tailored to a family’s needs, and agencies equipped to reach the families not yet enrolled. That is what adequate funding makes possible—and what New York’s agencies are straining to deliver as caseloads grow and resources lag.
The Cliff Is Coming
Federal waivers allowing remote WIC appointments—a key driver of New York’s enrollment growth—expire at the end of this fiscal year, adding new strain to already-stretched agencies. Without additional state funding, those agencies will face an impossible choice: scale back services, delay time-sensitive appointments, or maintain waiting lists. Every option puts agencies out of compliance with WIC policy—and means families that could have been served, weren’t. An estimated 200,000 eligible New Yorkers aren’t yet enrolled. With federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid deepening hardship, WIC has never been a more essential backstop.
Albany Can Fund What Works
The solution is clear: $30 million in additional state funding for WIC in the FY 2026–2027 budget—to stabilize local agency operations and support outreach to connect those 200,000 still-eligible New Yorkers to the program.
Thirty million dollars is a fraction of what WIC returns—in healthier babies, stronger families, lower healthcare costs, and more resilient local economies. In a budget season defined by difficult tradeoffs, this is one of New York’s clearest bets.
New York should be proud to lead the nation in growth in WIC participation. Now it must lead by making that growth sustainable. We urge Governor Hochul and the NYS Legislature to include $30 million for WIC in the final FY 2026–2027 budget—because the perinatal, postpartum, and pediatric patients who depend on this public health nutrition program cannot wait, and because investing in their earliest years is one of the best things New York can do for all of us.
Authored by the NYS American Academy of Pediatrics, Hunger Solutions New York, United for Brownsville, WIC Association of New York State, Community Health Care Association of New York State, New York State Public Health Association, New York State Perinatal Association, and the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy.
All children and families in New York—no matter their income, race, immigration status, or the community in which they live—should have access to nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and cultural traditions, fortifying them to lead healthy, active lives.
The Challenge
Too many New York families struggle to put food on the table. In 2023, roughly 1 in 5 New York children (19%) experienced food insecurity—meaning they sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat.1 Experiencing hunger as a child can have lasting impacts, including an increased risk of obesity and developmental and mental health challenges.2 The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)— the nation’s largest and most effective anti-hunger program—was subject to federal funding cuts and administrative changes beginning at the end of 2025. The changes are expected to cause more New Yorkers, including children, to endure hunger.
What We Know
Child hunger in New York is common and widespread
Lack of access to adequate food affects children across the state, in urban, rural, and suburban communities. Some counties face disproportionate rates of food insecurity—particularly Bronx and Kings counties, which have some of the highest populations of Black and Latino residents. Across the state, food insecurity occurs disproportionately along racial lines: 26% of Hispanic New Yorkers, 25% of Black New Yorkers, and 9% of white New Yorkers reported food insecurity.3
SNAP benefits are being reduced or eliminated for many.
In New York, SNAP provides nearly 3 million people— about 1 in 7 New Yorkers—with nutritional assistance, totaling $7.35 billion in benefits in 2024. More than 52% of SNAP participants are in families with children.4 Despite a large body of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of SNAP in increasing food security and improving health outcomes, the federal government recently imposed federal funding cuts and policy changes expected to cause hundreds of thousands of New York families to experience a reduction or elimination of their benefits.
A growing number of immigrant families are barred from SNAP.
Federal law has long excluded many immigrant families from participating in SNAP due to their immigration status, including roughly 64,600 New York families with children in 2024 who were income-eligible but excluded from SNAP due to their immigration status.6 With the passage of the July 2025 federal tax and budget reconciliation bill—H.R. 1—an additional 41,000 lawfully present refugees, asylees, and other immigrant New Yorkers are expected to be newly excluded from SNAP.
Demand for WIC consistently outpaces funding.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a federal program designed to ensure expecting parents, infants, and young children have access to sufficient food and other supports. WIC has been shown to improve health outcomes and alleviate food insecurity at critical moments in a child’s development.10 While a growing percentage of eligible residents are enrolled in WIC, nearly 40% of eligible New Yorkers are still not participating due to a lack of awareness, administrative barriers, and limited funded capacity.11
To increase participation, New York strategically implemented a federal waiver that allows participants to attend WIC appointments virtually, including regular health and nutrition check-ins, dramatically improving accessibility. However, due in part to the success of this approach, many WIC sites across the state now operate beyond their funded capacity. This leaves local programs struggling to meet demand, see clients in a timely manner, and retain necessary staff
State Policy Solutions
Invest state funds to make food benefits available to all income-eligible residents regardless of immigration status or ability to meet work reporting requirements.
Provide resources to transition SNAP benefits to a secure chip card to prevent the theft of SNAP benefits.
Engage in outreach and support to ensure young people formerly in foster care and others newly subject to SNAP work reporting requirements can meet them.
Increase state funding for WIC to help local programs serve more children and families.
Address the underlying causes of food insecurity among New York’s children by undertaking systemic changes that put more money in families’ pockets, such as raising the minimum wage, strengthening the state child tax credit, and implementing universal child care
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.
During the 2026 New York State Legislative Session, Schuyler Center will prioritize policies and investments that improve health, wellbeing, and economic security of New York’s families, children, and communities, with a focus on New Yorkers who are working hard to make ends meet. While New York has made a statutory commitment to cut child poverty in half by 2032, the rate of children experiencing poverty across New York State remains high, with over 18% of all New York children experiencing poverty. Further, recent and pending federal actions have eliminated or weakened services that New York families rely on in times of need. This means it is more important than ever for New York leaders to act boldly and with urgency to advance policies and investments proven to reduce child poverty, strengthen families, and set up New York children to thrive.
(View the details on policies that will achieve each goalhere.)
Goal 1: Family Economic Security — Effectively implement and expand existing policies and adopt new approaches to reduce child poverty and racial inequity statewide
Goal 2: Child Care — Take substantial strides toward achieving statewide universal child care.
Goal 3: Children’s Health — Expand and increase investment in child and family health.
Goal 4: Child Welfare — Transform child welfare by supporting families and communities.
Schuyler Center is continuing to monitor the impact that federal changes will have on children and families across New York State.
With the recent passing of the HR.1 bill, our efforts remain steadfast to ensure that New York’s families can access resources and are protected in these challenging times.
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