by Schuyler Center | Jan 13, 2026 | Child Care, Child Poverty, Child Welfare, Data, Early Childhood Health, Family Economic Security, Health, News, Past Events, SONYC
Schuyler Center’s annual State of New York’s Children Data Book provides 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.
View the event recording
View the presentation slides
Key Data Points and Takeaways:
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.
Direct Links to Data by Issue Area:
New York State’s Children – Demographics on New York’s current population of children.
Child Poverty:
Child Health:
Child Welfare:
Child Care:
by Schuyler Center | Nov 6, 2025 | Child Poverty, Family Economic Security, Federal Advocacy, News
In recent years, New York has been a national leader in addressing child poverty. In 2021, New York State enacted the Child Poverty Reduction Act and committed to cutting child poverty rates in half in a decade, with attention to significant racial and ethnic disparities in poverty rates. And progress has been made toward the goal, including through a significant expansion and increase in the state’s child tax credit that restructures it to direct the largest credit to the lowest income families.
Now, in the second half of 2025, federal actions have brought significant headwinds against New York’s movement to reduce child poverty and pose serious harm to children and families across the state. New York can—and must — continue to enact policy and budget decisions that prioritize and protect children and families. Our children are relying upon our leaders to protect them and continue the momentum toward a state free of poverty.
Schuyler Center has released a new brief examining the impacts of federal policy and funding changes on New York’s children and families, and many of the programs they rely on. It also lays out policy and budget recommendations for a New York State response to recent federal action. Download the report.
For more on this topic:
On Thursday, October 30, Schuyler Center hosted a panel on the topic, with analysis and conversation from Barbara Guinn, Commissioner at the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance; Maria Doulis, New York State Deputy Comptroller for Budget and Policy Analysis; Sophie Collyer, Research Director at the Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University ; and Kate Breslin, CEO at Schuyler Center. View the recording here.
by Schuyler Center | Oct 31, 2025 | Child Care, Child Poverty, Child Welfare, Early Childhood Health, Family Economic Security, Health, News, Oral Health
Download the 2026 policy priorities document here.
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 goal here.)
- 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.
Details on reaching each of the above goals can be found in the full 2026 Policy Priorities document.
by Schuyler Center | Aug 6, 2025 | Child Care, Child Poverty, Child Welfare, Early Childhood Health, Family Economic Security, Health, Legislative, News, Oral Health, Resources
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.
Steps you can take right now include:
If you have a suggested resource or day of action, please reach out to our policy team.
by Schuyler Center | Jan 6, 2025 | Child Poverty, Family Economic Security, News
Kate Breslin, President and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis & Advocacy, released the following statement in response to Governor Hochul’s announcement today proposing to improve the Child Tax Credit by making the full credit available to children in very low-income families and increasing the value of the credit.
Through the Child Poverty Reduction Act, Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature have committed to cutting child poverty in half by 2031. Last month, the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) presented the Governor and Legislative Leadership with comprehensive recommendations outlining key steps to achieve this critical goal.
“Governor Hochul’s plan to increase the Child Tax Credit is a welcome first step in reaching New York’s child poverty reduction goals and has the potential to make a meaningful difference for families across the state. By providing additional financial support, this increase can help lift children out of poverty and give hundreds of thousands of families the resources they need to succeed.
“Tax credits are among the most powerful poverty-fighting tools, and Schuyler Center has long advocated for expanding and strengthening New York State’s tax credits for families with children. A way to transfer cash directly to families, a child tax credit designed with intention can drastically reduce child poverty and provide meaningful assistance. Governor Hochul’s proposal to make the Empire State Child Credit more inclusive and meaningful will make a difference for New York’s children.
“Allowing child poverty to exist is a policy choice, as is investing in child poverty solutions. We applaud Governor Hochul for making a policy choice that will begin to reduce child poverty and uplift other New York families struggling to make ends meet.
“This proposal brings New York closer to implementing the recommendations of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, which include a robust child tax credit alongside housing and nutritional supports.
“The New York Can End Child Poverty campaign, composed of advocates, parents, educators, pediatricians, youth, faith leaders, and others, believes that New York can end child poverty and make New York the best place to raise a family.”
Child Tax Credit Resources:
Background: CPRAC Recommendations Provide a Roadmap for the Path Forward
On December 18, 2024, the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) voted on and passed its recommendations to help New York State achieve the historic goal of cutting child poverty by 50% by 2031.
CPRAC’s recommendations to Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature are built on proven strategies to combat child poverty, including:
- Expanding refundable child tax credits to provide direct and sustained economic support for families.
- Establishing a statewide rental assistance program to ensure stable and affordable housing.
- Increasing public assistance benefits to meet families’ basic needs and indexing them to inflation.
- Reintroducing state food assistance programs to fill gaps in federal SNAP coverage for children.
About Schuyler Center
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 has been a leader in advocating for robust, permanent, and inclusive Child Tax Credit expansions as a tool to uplift New York’s children and families experiencing poverty.
For more than 150 years, Schuyler Center has led advocacy rooted in compassion, evidence, and the belief that government should work for the greater good. Schuyler Center’s work acknowledges the historic racism woven throughout shared systems, and advocates for public policies that seek to address inequities while improving health, welfare, and human services for all New Yorkers.
Schuyler Center achieves its goals through creative and detailed policy analysis, coalition-building, and advocacy with elected officials, agency executives, policymakers, and stakeholders. Learn more at scaany.org.
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by Schuyler Center | Apr 25, 2024 | Child Poverty, Family Economic Security, Legislative
President Biden visits Syracuse today to celebrate the deal that will bring Micron Technologies to town; a deal facilitated in part through the federal CHIPS Act – a law that invests in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and workforce through direct federal investment and robust tax credits. Senator Schumer has touted this deal with Micron as one that should put “a smile on everyone’s face in Central New York.”
It is, indeed, an important investment in the economy of City of Syracuse and the region, promising to create thousands of jobs in the region, and to invigorate the local economy.
We also know there are additional ways federal funding and tax credits can boost local and regional economies, strengthen communities, and support hard-working families. One proven strategy is expanding refundable tax credits, like the child tax credit. These credits put money directly into the pockets of low and middle-income families, who in turn, bolster local economies when they spend those dollars at local stores, eateries, and businesses. When the federal government expanded the federal child tax credit during the pandemic, and distributed the credit in monthly payments, local economies across the nation saw a $19.3 billion boost in spending per month.
The child tax credit is among the most effective ways to quickly reduce rates of child poverty. The pandemic-era child tax credit expansion resulted in a nearly 50% drop in child poverty nationally, and here in New York State. Unfortunately, when the expanded credit was allowed to lapse, poverty rates rebounded to previous levels. Federal leaders, including President Biden and Senator Schumer, have backed recent proposals to expand the child tax credit, but to date, those efforts have been unsuccessful.
This failure is particularly devastating in Syracuse, which leads the state as the city with the highest child poverty rate; 46% of children in Syracuse live in poverty. Every child deserves a fair opportunity to get off to the best start possible. The city or ZIP code where a child grows up should not determine his or her chances of achieving success.
We urge President Biden and Senator Schumer to renew their efforts to pass an expanded child tax credit, and put money directly into the pockets of Syracuse families – and families across the nation – who are struggling to make ends meet. We hope that, while they are here in Syracuse, President Biden and Senator Schumer will take a look at the city and communities and understand that economic development means investing in jobs AND in the families and communities that make up New York State. An expanded child tax credit would be the boost to families we need!
To learn more about ending child poverty in New York State visit New York Can End Child Poverty.
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