This series of virtual and in-person policy discussions kicked off in June 2023, and examines the intersections of child poverty reduction and other policy areas, including health, early childhood policy, and immigration. Panelists have included policy experts, pediatricians, parent advocates, NYS agency leaders, youth partners, and others invested in ending child poverty in New York State.
Centering Children in the New York State Budget– January 2024 webinar
January 12, 2024 at noon
As Albany gears up for the 2024 New York State legislative session, this insider conversation looks at what we expect (and hope!) to see in this year’s state budget and the investments needed to make New York State a place where families can afford to live, grow, and thrive.
In this webinar, Schuyler Center’s Kate Breslin and Dede Hill discuss budget priorities for New York’s children and families, answer questions, and share resources as we kick off 2024.
The Power of Guaranteed Income Programs– December 2023 webinar
There are several guaranteed income pilot programs across the state and country. These programs provide a basic income to participants, with no work requirement. During this webinar, panelists discussed lessons learned from these pilot programs, the experience as a participant, and how this type of policy can combat child poverty. View the webinar recording.
Panelists:
Steph Silkowski, Director of Policy & Strategic Initiatives, The Bridge Project
Children in Immigrant Families – October 2023 webinar
For children in immigrant families, there can be many barriers to services that support well-being. This discussion with immigration and policy experts examined how New York can best support all children, why those investments matter, and opportunities to support the newest New Yorkers. View the webinar recording.
Panelists:
Lillie Hinkle, Associate Policy Analyst, National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, Migration Policy Institute
Early Childhood Foundations – September 2023, in-person event
This discussion with early childhood experts focused on the intersections of early childhood development and the experience of poverty, as well as the policy interventions that have proven to be effective for families. Held in Albany at The Bull Moose Club, the event brought together advocates, policymakers, community leaders, and state agency leadership. View the recording here.
The discussion was moderated by David Lombardo, host of The Capitol Pressroom, with panelists:
For families experiencing poverty, there are many barriers to consistent, quality health care. This discussion with leading child health and policy experts focused on how New York supports health for all children, opportunities for improvement, and recommendations for action that addresses health goals within child poverty reduction efforts. View the recording here.
Panelists:
Dr. Benard Dreyer, Pediatrician, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital Center
Progress Update on the Child Poverty Reduction Act – June 2023 webinar
The first in our discussion series included the co-chair and members of the NYS Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council. The conversation focused on the work the Council has done so far, goals for the coming months, and what lies ahead in pursuit of the Child Poverty Reduction Act goal to reduce the State’s child poverty rate by 50% by 2033. View the recording here.
Panelists:
Advisory Council co-chair Daniel Tietz, Commissioner of the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance;
Alyson Tarek, Assistant Secretary for Human Services and Mental Hygiene, NYS Executive Chamber; and
Advisory Council member Candace Cabral, Parent Advocate.
Schuyler Center’sNext Look is an initial and targeted assessment of how the New York Senate and Assembly 2023-24 One-House Budget proposals would address some of the issues most critical to the health and well-being of low-income families and children, and all New Yorkers living on the margins. Chief among these issues is child and family poverty. View Next Look.
Highlighted in the assessment are State budget actions that hold real opportunity to concretely improve the lives of New York children, families, and marginalized New Yorkers. Schuyler Center’s team is continuing to analyze these proposals more closely and is working with our partners to ensure that the enacted NYS budget seizes these opportunities to set up all New Yorkers to thrive.
Next Look includes Budget proposals in the areas of Child Welfare; Refundable Tax Credits (excerpted below); Minimum Wage; Housing Voucher Program; Universal School Meals; Public Assistance; Child Care; Pre-K, Afterschool, and Home Visiting; Public Health, Health Coverage, Access and Care.
Schuyler Center’s First Look is an initial assessment of New York State’s 2023-24 proposed Executive Budget and how it advances priorities that improve the health and well-being of all New Yorkers, especially families impacted by poverty.
In 2022, New York State enacted the Child Poverty Reduction Act, committing the State to reducing child poverty by 50% in the coming decade with attention to racial equity. The law creates an expectation of public accounting for progress over time and assessment of budget actions with regard to their impacts on child poverty. We urge partners in and outside of government to systematically evaluate each and every budget decision as to its impact on child poverty and overall child and family well-being.
The foundational principle of Louisa Lee Schuyler’s work was that democracy could, and must, be made to work in those areas appropriate to it.
When Louisa founded SCAA in 1872, she focused her efforts on organizing and bringing a voice to communities and their disenfranchised members in order to inform and influence government policy, believing government must be made to function well for all.
We do the same today. Schuyler Center effectively shares data and advocates for evidence-based approaches and policies that center the most disadvantaged New Yorkers.
We focus on families and children living in poverty because we must — for many reasons, including:
• Hundreds of thousands of New York’s children live in families below 100% of the federal poverty level and when children in low-income families just above poverty are included, the number exceeds a million children;
• The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that poverty and other adverse social determinants have a detrimental effect on child health and are root causes of child health inequities;
• Poverty and racial inequities are inextricably linked, with children of color experiencing poverty and near poverty at nearly twice the rate of white children and existing systems perpetuate this;
• Poverty and child welfare are linked, with children living in lower income families at higher risk of experiencing childhood traumas, which are correlated with health and socio-economic problems as adults;
• Poverty among young adults is climbing and now sits at nearly 20%;
• Poverty contributes to negative outcomes for children, including disparities in school-readiness and continued lags in learning.
Our state and country were founded on principles of equality. We have a long way to go.
New York’s health care system treats parents/caregivers and their children as separate entities, and Medicaid largely relies on diagnoses to drive reimbursement, rather than paying for prevention. This can lead to higher costs, poorer outcomes, and missed opportunities for promotion of positive parent-child interactions and prevention and early intervention.
The dyadic approach, conducted within primary care, screens babies and toddlers for healthy development and adults for stressors such as depression and substance use disorders, intimate partner violence, unstable housing, and food insecurity. Connections are made to programs that can support the family and guide open conversations about the best ways to support early learning, healthy disciplinary interactions, and caregiver-child bonding.
The policy brief provides recommendations for sustainable funding for dyadic services through Medicaid and other health insurance to expand access to these services.
To highlight the recommendations in the brief, the Schuyler Center held a webinar on April 27 with speakers discussing how dyadic services are presented in pediatric settings and how they benefit families.
The World Health Organization describes the social determinants of health as the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, social norms, social policies and political systems.
People from lower-income families are more than twice as likely to face serious illness or premature death, and the vast majority of premature mortality and morbidity is attributable to social, behavioral, and environmental factors, yet we continue to spend most health-related money on medical care, not the social determinants.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued policy statements regarding the important role that poverty and related social determinants play in adverse outcomes across the life course. Supporting decades of evidence about social determinants, positive outcomes for children are associated with screening for and addressing families’ social needs.
Kate’s presentation covered some of the ways New York State’s Medicaid and health systems are exploring better integration of social determinants of health into health systems and payment arrangements.
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