Statement in Response to One-House Budget Bills 

Statement in Response to One-House Budget Bills 

New York’s State Budget Must Prioritize Affordability for Families Schuyler Center Statement in Response to One-House Budget Bills 

As New York families struggle to afford the cost of living, our state leaders have an opportunity to leverage this year’s budget to bolster family economic security statewide.  

Schuyler Center is encouraged to see many proposals in the Senate and Assembly budget bills that will support children and families, especially those struggling to make ends meet. We appreciate both houses’ willingness to listen to the solutions necessary to make New York a place where families can afford to put down roots. 

The inclusion of investments that will have the biggest impact on those with the lowest incomes must be a priority as the final budget is negotiated. These proposals include robust tax credits, continuous Medicaid coverage for the youngest children, and making child care assistance more accessible to the many parents who work variable hours in retail, the trades, and the gig economy. By uplifting New Yorkers most in need, our leaders can create more opportunities for all children and families to thrive right here in New York.  

Among the proposals with the highest potential to cut child poverty statewide and make New York more affordable for families is the Senate’s proposal to create and begin to implement a new refundable tax credit, the Working Families Tax Credit.  
 
Unfortunately, while all three budget proposals commit to maintaining New York’s historic levels of investment in child care assistance, none include a permanent, sustained investment in the child care workforce. This failure threatens to derail all the state’s progress toward stabilizing the sector and making care available for more children and families.  [View Schuyler Center’s Policy Priorities for Child and Family Well-Being.]

Budget Investments that Prioritize Child Poverty Reduction 

In 2021, the New York State Legislature passed, and Governor Hochul signed, the Child Poverty Reduction Act (CPRA), committing the State to take action to reduce child poverty by 50 percent. Schuyler Center spearheaded passage of this law and continues to hold New York State accountable for upholding that commitment.  

Through the CPRA, New York’s leaders have committed to prioritizing budget investments that will do the most for those with the fewest resources. Accomplishing New York’s child poverty reduction goal requires focused budget and policy actions to meaningfully reduce poverty statewide. We are encouraged by several items across the three budget proposals, including: 

  • Robust and inclusive child tax credits – Both the Senate and Assembly budget bills include proposals that would strengthen the state’s refundable tax credits. To combat child poverty and make New York State more affordable for all families, it is critical that the Enacted Budget include a sustained, robust, refundable family-focused tax credit that targets the highest credit to the lowest income-earners (without an income phase-in), and is available to those who file taxes, but do not have a social security number. The Senate’s proposal to create a new Working Families Tax Credit – which combines the existing child tax credit and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – would immediately drive a significantly larger credit to the lowest income New Yorkers, and longer term provide all eligible New Yorkers a greater credit, making New York State a more affordable place to raise a family. 
     
  • Funding for the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), as advanced in both Senate and Assembly proposals, would create a state-funded voucher. A commitment of $250 million toward HAVP would have a transformative impact by helping families exit or prevent homelessness 
     
  • The establishment and funding of a permanent, statewide Healthy School Meals for All program, as is proposed in both Houses’ budget bills, must be included in the Enacted Budget. This would provide school breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students in schools participating in the National School Lunch Program – a strategy proven to reduce food insecurity among children and lift families out of poverty.  

Letter from the New York Can End Child Poverty coalition to state leaders: Addressing Child Poverty in the NYS Budget

Investments in Health Equity for the Youngest New Yorkers 

Schuyler Center is pleased to see the inclusion of continuous Medicaid and Child Health Plus coverage for children 0-6 included in all three budget proposals. Forty-five percent of New York children are covered by Medicaid and Child Health Plus. Eliminating the requirement for the youngest New Yorkers to re-enroll every year would ensure that those children have continuous access to health services in the most critical years of their development. We applaud the Executive, Senate, and Assembly for recognizing the importance of this initiative. 

Helping Families by Solving the Child Care Crisis 

Supporting New York’s families requires addressing the crisis of child care access, affordability, and availability. The state must make a substantial and sustained investment in New York’s child care workforce and extend the promise of care to all children in our state.  

As a member of the Empire State Campaign for Child Care, we appreciate the Senate and Assembly including $220 million in additional funds for child care workforce retention grants, bringing the total investment in the workforce to $500 million. While this falls short of the $1.2 billion that is needed, it is a critical investment in the ‘workforce behind the workforce.’ What is needed in the final budget, however, is a commitment to providing workforce supplements on a permanent basis – as recommended in the Senate resolution.  

Transforming Child Welfare  

The final state budget must transform the child welfare system by investing in policies that foster transparency and accountability, prevent system-involvement and unnecessary, harmful family separations, reduce institutional placements, and support child, family, and community wellbeing. While there was some action toward these goals, several needed investments were left out of all three budget proposals.  

Together with a statewide group of advocates, providers, and New Yorkers impacted by the child welfare system, we were pleased to see state funding for child welfare Preventive Services restored to 65% in both the Senate and Assembly proposals and urge its inclusion in the final budget. This funding stream enables counties to support families to stay together and youth who age out of the system to live independently.  

Additional investments needed to support youth and families involved in the child welfare system: 

  • Add a cost-of-living adjustment to the child welfare housing subsidy and allow young people up to age 24 to access it. 
  • Fully fund the Foster Youth College Success Initiative (FYSCI) at $10 million – The Senate proposes $8.2 million for FYSCI and the Assembly proposes $8.6 for FYSCI. By increasing funding to $10 million, more foster youth can achieve education success and support. 
  • Fund a flexible 3.2% cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for human services, instead of targeting the COLA to non-executive positions, and provide $195 million in funding to restructure and raise rates for mental health services. 
  • Invest $80 million to raise salaries and reduce caseloads for lawyers providing legal representation to children and families in Family Court. While the Senate proposes $20 million in funding for increased salaries, it is not enough; we urge our New York leaders to invest $80 million.  
How are New York’s Children Faring?

How are New York’s Children Faring?

On January 17, Schuyler Center’s policy team presented the latest data and policy recommendations around child and family well-being in New York State (see photos below). The data and recommendations can be found in the 2024 State of New York’s Children Report.

View the event recording.

View the presentation slides.

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.

Direct links to data by issue area:

New York State’s ChildrenDemographic data on New York’s population of children.

Child Poverty

Child Care

Child Welfare

Fostering Transparency and Accountability in New York’s Child Welfare System

Health

Statement in Response to Governor Hochul’s 2024 State of the State Address 

Statement in Response to Governor Hochul’s 2024 State of the State Address 

The Governor must advance policies and investments that will be transformative for New York’s children and families while making New York more affordable for all.

Following yesterday’s State of the State address, Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy is encouraged by Governor Hochul’s attention to health equity, youth mental health, maternal and infant health, paid parental and disability leave, and making New York more affordable for families.  

We are especially pleased to see that New York is poised to become the next state to provide continuous coverage in Medicaid and Child Health Plus for the youngest New Yorkers through an intent to apply for Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver authority. As supporters of this policy, we recognize that enacting continuous health coverage for children until they reach age six will keep New York on the forefront of protecting and investing in our youngest children and their families. 

At a time when families are leaving New York State, the right investments can keep families here: learning, growing, playing, working, and creating a vibrant future for our state.  

Unfortunately, many of Governor Hochul’s policies as presented fall short of meeting the great need that exists, and many needed investments went unmentioned.  

As advocates for children and families impacted by poverty, we were concerned to hear the Governor use the language of shared austerity when referring to the state’s budget challenges, suggesting that all New Yorkers must tighten their belts. We urge Governor Hochul and legislative leaders to remember that children from working families and historically underinvested communities must not shoulder the burden of inadequately funded services so the State can close budget gaps.  

Child and family well-being is the foundation of a thriving society—these are the investments that pay off for everyone, now and for generations to come. The right funding and policies can help us achieve a vision for New York State in which families can not only afford to stay in New York but choose to stay and flourish here.  

There are four policy areas that would create fertile ground for child and family well-being, for all New Yorkers. We look forward to seeing substantial, meaningful investments in each of these areas in Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget:  

  • Child Poverty Reduction — New York State must make good on its promise to substantially reduce child poverty and racial inequity throughout the state, starting by ensuring robust tax credits, housing, and nutritional supports reach all families, no matter where they were born. 
  • Affordable, Accessible, Quality Child Care — It is time for substantial and sustained investment in a child care system that works for everyone. Child care costs are too high for most families, while at the same time child care providers are earning wages so low that they often rely on assistance to make ends meet. New York must invest in the child care workforce and extend the promise of care to all children in our state. 
  • Children’s Health — The state must expand and increase investment in child and family health, including in mental and oral health, as well as in health coverage systems to ensure children have consistent, reliable access to health care. 
  • Child Welfare —It’s past time to transform the child welfare system by investing in policies that foster transparency and accountability, prevent system-involvement and unnecessary, harmful family separations, reduce institutional placements, and support child, family, and community well-being. 

We are ready to work with Governor Hochul and State Legislators to continue building a New York State that supports family well-being, in which opportunity is accessible to every child, and where families choose to build their futures.  

 

Links to Close Out 2023

Links to Close Out 2023

As we take a pause during this last week of the year, this week’s blog post rounds up some links to news you may have missed, upcoming events, and resources to fuel your advocacy for New York’s families in the new year.  Thank you for your support and partnership, and best wishes for a restful end of 2023 and a recharged 2024!  

In 2023, we held five panel discussions on Addressing Child Poverty – four on Zoom and one in person. 
Watch the recordings here (and register to attend the virtual January 12 panel with Kate Breslin and Dede Hill, on Centering Children in the New York State Budget).   

On December 22, Governor Hochul vetoed legislation that would have allowed more New York families to access full-time child care. The bill passed the legislature twice with major, bipartisan support. In a statement, the Empire State Campaign for Child Care urges Governor Hochul “to demonstrate that she truly believes in the transformative change necessary to break down barriers to child care assistance by including this legislation in her upcoming Executive Budget alongside permanent, meaningful investment in the child care workforce and significant progress towards care infrastructure that truly meets the needs of New York’s children and families.” 

Schuyler Center’s annual State of New York’s Children Data Book was released last week. The 2024 report provides a data snapshot of the well-being of New York’s children and families and the challenges New York families are facing. The book includes data and policy recommendations around child poverty, child welfare, child care, oral health, and Medicaid.

Join us! The State of New York’s Children in-person data briefing will be held on January 17 in Albany. Registration is free but space is limited.  

The Resources section of our website includes Schuyler Center reports, testimony, data analysis, policy priorities, fact sheets, and more – all searchable by type, issue category, and keyword. Access Schuyler Center Resources here.  

Crystal Charles, Senior Policy Analyst, will participate in a United Way Advocacy Roundtable on Family & Wellbeing on January 19. Find details and registration here.

In 2024, Schuyler Center urges leaders to champion policies that improve health, well-being, 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. Read our full 2024 Policy Priorities for Child and Family Well-Being.  

Recently, on the Schuyler Insider blog: 

The New York State Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council met earlier this month. Schuyler Center President and CEO Kate Breslin is an appointed member of the Council. At the December 6 meeting, the group approved and released its 2023 Progress Report.  

Looking Back: Key Wins for Families in 2023

– Budget funding to strengthen New York’s Empire State Child Credit so that it now, finally, includes children ages 0-3 for the first time. As a result, this tax credit will reach an additional 600,000 to 900,000 children statewide. 

– A long-fought win for a historic update to the child welfare housing subsidy in the state budget. The subsidy will increase from $300 a month to $725 a month for youth exiting foster care and families involved in the child welfare system—the first increase since 1988.  

– The passionate advocacy of the Empire State Campaign for Child Care (ESCCC), the statewide coalition led by Schuyler Center, resulted in significant strides in child care funding and policy. 

– A commitment to ensuring that people with lived experience have a voice at policy tables on child care, economic security, and the child welfare system, and that they are supported in that work. 

Links to Close Out 2023

Schuyler Center’s 2023 Impact Report

Strong Families. Thriving Children. Vibrant Communities.

That is Schuyler Center’s vision for New York’s future: a future in which every child has the opportunity to thrive, and where well-being is accessible to every family, in every region of the state. Read Schuyler Center’s 2023 Impact Report.

We believe New York’s leaders can and must center the needs of families when making policy decisions. And we are tenacious in delivering that message – along with the data to support it – to the governor, state legislators, government leaders, and policymakers.

Our Supporters Make This Work Possible.

With the support of our donors and funders, Schuyler Center is a trusted leader in advocating for policy that centers children and families, especially those impacted by poverty and inequity.

Since 1872, SCAA’s work has had far-reaching impact. Together, we are proving that meaningful change is possible, and that a just future for all New Yorkers is within reach through effective advocacy, thoughtful analysis, and trusted leadership.

Read Schuyler Center’s 2023 Impact Report.

Make your gift to support poverty-fighting public policy.

NYS Child Welfare Summit: Recap and Resources

NYS Child Welfare Summit: Recap and Resources

By Crystal Charles, Senior Policy Analyst

On November 1, Schuyler Center, Fostering Youth Success Alliance, and partners hosted the NYS Child Welfare Summit in Albany. In attendance were over 70 participants, from legislators to advocates, to state agencies, researchers, and community members, including parents and young people. It was a great day full of important discussions- thank you to everyone who attended!


The Summit kicked off with a joint presentation on the shared policy priorities of the Child and Family Wellbeing Action Network (CFWAN), an expanding group of advocates, providers, and people impacted by New York’s child welfare system. The Action Network is working towards a vision of New York where the state prioritizes investing in and implementing policies that strengthen and support children, youth and families. Following the presentation, sessions were held that focused on major issues in New York’s child welfare system:

Policy Priorities Overview with Q&A:

Crystal Charles, Brad Hansen, Deidra Nesbeth

Root Causes of System Involvement:

Nora McCarthy, Kari Siddiqui, Georgia Boothe

System Bias:

Shalonda Curtis-Hackett

Supporting Young People Exiting the System:

Nittaya Casey, Julia Davis, LaTroya Lovell

Links to presentations, handouts, and resources:

Resources mentioned during panels:

NYC Family Policy Project (reports and data) https://familypolicynyc.org/ 

Rise – An Unavoidable System https://www.risemagazine.org/2021/09/par-report-an-unavoidable-system/ 

Investigating Families by Kelley Fong: https://www.amazon.com/Investigating-Families-Motherhood-Protective-Services/dp/0691235716