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 30, 2025 | Child Poverty, Federal Advocacy, Past Events
On October 30, 2025, Schuyler Center hosted a virtual conversation on state policies to protect the health and wellbeing of New York’s children with 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.
Following the webinar, Schuyler Center 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.
by Schuyler Center | Aug 8, 2025 | Child Care, Federal Advocacy, News
By Adanech Makey, Policy and Community Engagement Specialist
“We tell our families that they should continue speaking their native language with their children—the children will pick up English in the classroom. We need to celebrate the cultures our children and families come from because we want them to be proud of their heritage”.
As an immigrant who came to the United States in the early 2000s, this comment made by a Head Start Director felt refreshing and affirming. I felt great pride that in my community, there was a program actively welcoming, celebrating, and partnering with families to give their children a strong foundation.
This has been the Head Start approach for the last six decades—providing comprehensive early childhood and wraparound services to all age- and income-eligible children and their families, regardless of immigration status. It is a model built on the principles of inclusion, equity, and trust.
A recent policy change poses a threat to Head Start’s foundational principles.
On July 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice reclassifying Head Start, among other federal programs, as a “federal public benefit” subject to immigration restrictions. This change reverses a 1998 reinterpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which had explicitly excluded Head Start and Early Head Start from such restrictions. For decades, this exemption has allowed eligible families—regardless of immigration status—to access the program.
Under the new classification, only “qualified” immigrants would be considered eligible. This includes, among other categories, lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, and individuals paroled for at least 1 year. However, it newly excludes many other immigrant families, including those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, or those who are undocumented.
While it remains unclear how programs will be expected to implement this new rule, there is no question this policy change will have a chilling effect that will keep many families from accessing Head Start. Even families who may remain eligible for Head Start may be hesitant to participate in the program should they be required to provide proof of immigration status.
Further, such a requirement could prevent many non-immigrant families from being able to enroll due to lack of documentation. And children who would otherwise benefit from Head Start’s proven outcomes, including higher graduation rates and long-term health and academic success, will lose out on these benefits.
We must act now.
What you can do to protect Head Start
On July 14, this proposed rule was published in the Federal Register, and the public has until August 13 to submit comments. You can help Schuyler Center advocate for Head Start to remain an inclusive program by submitting a comment. Public comments can help influence federal policy. It can also slow implementation, requiring the government to reconsider its plan. We urge you to submit a comment and share why Head Start must remain accessible to all eligible families, regardless of immigration status, and we’re sharing tools to help you do so.
With guidance from our national partners, we’ve created a template tailored for New York to assist you in drafting your comment. If you need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our team. Comments are due on August 13, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET and should be submitted HERE.
For 60 years, Head Start has embraced the richness of our communities and celebrated the cultures of participating families. As a young immigrant child, I would have loved to experience a program like Head Start—one that partners with families and honors who they are and where they come from. Head Start is not just about school readiness. It’s about belonging and building a strong foundation for our youngest children, centered on care and equity.
The policy decision to limit access to Head Start doesn’t just impact individual children and their families—it undermines the very promise of equity that Head Start was founded on.
Let’s join together to protect that promise for all our children. Let’s protect Head Start.
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 | Jul 24, 2025 | Child Welfare, Legislative, News
Update 12/21/25 – Governor Hochul signed Anti-Harassment in Reporting (S.550-A/A.66-A) and Provide Luggage to Foster Youth (S.3781/A.5434) into law before the close of 2025. By signing these bills Governor Hochul is steering New York’s child welfare system in a more caring direction.
This year we are celebrating three major child welfare policy wins! These wins are the result of years of advocacy during which Schuyler Center and partners have worked alongside state leaders to deepen the understanding of the issues impacting children and families involved in New York’s child welfare system.
Anti-Harassment in Reporting (S.550-A/A.66-A) passed both houses this year, a first after years of advocacy. This bill would require reporters at the State Central Register to confidentially provide their name and contact information, ending the state’s practice of accepting anonymous reports. We have prioritized this bill because each year, anonymous reports to the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR) lead to thousands of unnecessary, traumatic investigations into New York families, which are eventually determined to be unfounded.
Alternative Living Arrangements Reporting (S.5242/A.744) passed both houses this year – this legislation addresses another issue Schuyler Center and our partners have worked on for years. This bill would require local departments of social services to record and report on the practice of separating children from their parents using “voluntary” arrangements not overseen by a family court. We supported this bill because when alternative living arrangements are used, CPS separates the child from their parents outside of the standard investigative process. In New York there are around 14,000 children in CPS custody; there are almost 200,000 children estimated to be involved in alternative living arrangements. These arrangements, while widely used, are not tracked or monitored.
Provide Luggage to Foster Youth (S.3781/A.5434) passed both houses this year—unanimously! This bill would require the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to provide luggage to young people entering, living in, moving between, and exiting state custody, placement, or guardianship. The bill also requires annual reporting on young people that do and do not have luggage. This is a common sense, long overdue measure that would help young people involved in the child welfare system by preserving their human dignity and some sense of normalcy.
We look forward to seeing Governor Hochul sign these bills into law in the coming months.
For more on Schuyler Center’s 2025 advocacy results, check out 2025 End of Session Legislative Priorities Outcomes.
If you’d like to stay up to date on the latest child welfare policy developments, sign up to receive emails from the Child and Family Wellbeing Action Network.
by Schuyler Center | Jul 10, 2025 | Child Poverty, Legislative, News
Dear Schuyler Center friends,
I write today with a heavy heart, and a fierce resolve to look and move forward. The passage of the Federal budget and tax bill, H.R. 1, strips away programs and services that New York families rely on in times of need. The law is projected to lead to loss of health coverage for nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers and reduce access to care in our most under-resourced communities; cause more than 1.7 million New York families to lose some or all of their nutrition assistance (SNAP); and deny an estimated 226,000 U.S. citizen and legal permanent resident children in New York the federal child tax credit. The new law tramples on our families and communities.
As the leader of an organization dedicated to advancing data-driven policy to improve the wellbeing, health, and economic security of marginalized New Yorkers, especially children and families, this law is a gut punch. It will harm New Yorkers already struggling and undo decades of policy progress.
If ever there was a time for New York leaders and the advocacy community to step up and act boldly, guided by values and data, this is that moment. Schuyler Center is committed to giving it our all.
For 153 years, Schuyler Center has fought for – and helped achieve – policies that reduce poverty and increase family economic security; reduce communicable diseases and preventable deaths; expand access to high quality early education; reduce income inequality; and reform child welfare to prioritize keeping families safely together. The policies Schuyler Center champions are free from punishing, degrading, intrusive administrative barriers. They are policies proven to be equitable and effective at setting up New Yorkers to thrive.
Among Schuyler Center’s proudest achievements in recent years has been helping to secure passage of the Child Poverty Reduction Act, committing New York’s policy leaders to cut child poverty in half by 2031. We have already taken big steps toward meeting this commitment. This year alone, the state budget included a stronger child tax credit, universal school meals, and additional funding for child care assistance.
Implementation of H.R. 1 threatens to not only derail New York from achieving its child poverty reduction goals, but to undo the progress we have made. Schuyler Center’s team is working hard to ensure that doesn’t happen. We are angry, but we aren’t without hope.
In the coming weeks and months, we will share data and stories that illuminate the harm H.R. 1 will cause New Yorkers. We will urge our federal delegation to right this wrong. We will work with state lawmakers, agency leaders, and fellow advocates to ensure New York State takes all steps possible to protect New Yorkers most likely to be harmed by this law, including people with low-incomes, immigrant families, and New Yorkers with disabilities and chronic conditions.
All of us at Schuyler Center are working to fully comprehend the expansive impact this bill will have on basic services for low-income New Yorkers. The scope and size of the cuts are simply too much for any state – even one as wealthy and well-resourced as New York – to fully backfill. However, we will not back down or give up.
Schuyler Center will remain at the forefront of conversations about how to protect New York’s children from the harms handed down by the federal government.
New York’s children are depending on us to show up. Sign up for our email list, connect with us on social media, and join us in tenacious advocacy for and with New York’s children and families, especially those experiencing poverty.
Yours in solidarity,
Kate Breslin
President and CEO
Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy
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