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.
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 Children – Demographic data on New York’s population of children.
Child Poverty
Child Care
- Bolstering the Child Care System with a Well-Compensated Workforce
- Lowering Barriers to Assistance for a More Equitable Child Care System
Child Welfare
Fostering Transparency and Accountability in New York’s Child Welfare System
Health
