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In the final week of the 2024 Legislative Session, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed several bills that will support New York’s children and families impacted by poverty. Following the enactment of a state budget that did little to meaningfully support families, Schuyler Center is heartened that several of our policy priorities were championed and passed by the legislature.  

We are grateful for the persistence of our bill sponsors and legislative champions: Senator Brisport, Senator Brouk, Senator Ramos, Assemblymember Clark, Assemblymember Hevesi, Senator Hoylman-Sigal, Assemblymember Kim, Assemblymember Bailey, Assemblymember Peoples-Stokes, Senator Fernandez, Senator Paulin, Assemblymember Cleare, Assemblymember Walker, Assemblymember Rosenthal, Senator Salazar, Assemblymember O’Donnell, Senator Myrie, and Senator Kennedy.

Schuyler Center will be working to ensure that the bills passed by the legislature are signed into law by the Governor as soon as possible and implemented effectively.  

OUTCOMES

Child Care

Read Empire State Campaign for Child Care’s End of Session Statement and a progress report on ESCCC’s top post-budget legislative and policy priorities.

Create a permanent child care fund to increase child care worker compensation. One-time “bonuses” or “retention grants” do not create a landscape where professionals can feel confident in the stability of this line of work.  Did not pass.

A.8878-A (Hevesi)/S.8152-A (Brisport) — End New York’s rule of tying child care assistance to parents’ exact hours of work —This rule makes it difficult for many working parents with fluctuating schedules, including parents working in the gig economy or in retail, to access child care. This was passed overwhelmingly by the Legislature in 2023, then vetoed by the Governor with a note that it would be “more appropriately considered in the budget process.” The Legislature included this proposal in both of their one-house budgets; it was excluded from the final budget.   Passed both houses by a large margin.

A.4099 (Clark)/S.4667 (Brouk) — Statewide presumptive eligibility — Allow families quick access to child care assistance while waiting for paperwork processing to be completed so parents do not lose job opportunities, and children experience more continuity of care.  A recently-enacted federal rule (Improving Child Care Access, Affordability, and the Child Care and Development Fund), clarifies that federal funds can be used to cover the presumptive eligibility period, and encourages states to implement this and other policies that will ease enrollment burdens on families.  Passed both houses unanimously.

A.1303-A (Clark)/ S.4924-A (Ramos) —Eliminate Minimum Earnings Requirements for CCAP Eligibility —

Currently, parents and caretakers can be ineligible for child care assistance if they earn too little. Under this rule, many small business owners who are barely paying themselves – including many child care providers – are ineligible for child care assistance. These families are already enduring the consequences of earning low pay, working on the margins of the economy, and are being denied access to child care assistance because they are earning so little.  This bill was not expected to pass this year. In the final weeks of session, a path to passage opened, and in the final three days of session, it passed both houses unanimously.

Child Welfare and Youth Justice

A.2479-A (Hevesi)/S.902-B (Brisport) —Anti-Harassment in Reporting — Requires reporters to the State Central Register to provide their name and contact information to prevent reports being used as a form of harassment. Reporters’ names could only be accessed by the Office of Children and Family Services and counties. Black children are nearly twice as likely as white children to be reported to the SCR. False anonymous reports are often used as a form of harassment. Passed the Senate, one vote away from being unanimous. Did not pass in the Assembly.

A.9321-B (Hevesi)/S.8724-B (Hoylman-Sigal) —Safe Landings Act — Aims to protect and ensure support for young persons exiting foster care by authorizing the Family Court to enforce orders on behalf of children after they are discharged from, or age out of, foster care. For example, a young person can return to the court and be appointed a lawyer if they are still in need of stable housing or other necessary services for their transition to adulthood. Passed both houses: the Senate unanimously, the Assembly by a large margin.

A.4027-A (Kim)/S.7054-B (Hoylman-Sigal) —End automatic child support referrals upon foster care entry ­— Directs counties away from automatically referring parents of children who enter foster care to child support collections. States consistently spend more money trying to collect child support than they collect, typically at a 3:1 ratio. Some New York counties collect approximately $2.3 million a year on “foster care child support” cases, likely spending $6 million in child support administrative costs and delaying reunification. Passed the Senate. Did not pass in Assembly.

A.8923-A (Hevesi)/S.1099-A (Bailey) — Right2RemainSilent — Prohibits police from engaging in custodial interrogation of a child under the age of 18 until the child has consulted with an attorney. It is well-understood by psychologists, sociologists, and neurologists that children lack the capacity to fully appreciate the meaning and significance of the right to remain silent, and to appreciate the repercussions of waiving that right. Data show that children falsely confess at three times the rate of adults. Did not pass. Made it to the Assembly debate list in the final days of session, but did not pass.

Health

A.7402-B (Peoples-Stokes)/S.9308-A(Fernandez) — Topical Fluoride Varnish ­— Amends the Education Law to permit dental assistants and licensed practical nurses to perform the application of topical fluoride varnish. Applying fluoride varnish to teeth of young children is proven to reduce dental disease, but too few children in New York receive treatments. Passed both houses unanimously.

A.8983 (Paulin)/S.7667-A (Cleare) — Adult Dental Benefits — This bill would codify dental implants, replacement dental prosthetic appliances, crowns and root canals as medically necessary and eligible for coverage under the Medicaid program. Passed unanimously in Senate. Did not pass in Assembly. 

Child Poverty

Urge the Legislature to monitor the State’s progress toward its child poverty reduction goals. We continued to elevate the need to prioritize policies proven to reduce child poverty to reach the State’s child poverty reduction commitment.

Additional Schuyler Center Priorities

A.1980-A (Walker)/S.901-A (Brisport) —Family Miranda Rights — Requires Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers to advise parents and caregivers of their rights at first contact. Did not pass.

A.109-B (Rosenthal)/S.320-B (Salazar) —Informed Consent for Drug Testing Parents and Babies — Requires medical care providers to seek the informed consent of pregnant people and new mothers before they or their babies are drug tested. Did not pass. Was debated twice in the Assembly.

A.4238 (O’Donnell)/S.3426 (Myrie) — Youth Justice & Opportunities Act (YJ&O) — Expands alternatives to incarceration, diversion, and immediate record sealing for young people who are arrested in New York. Did not pass.

A.1885 (Clark)/S.3355 (Kennedy) — Implement a “cost estimation” method of setting child care assistance reimbursement rates — A cost estimation model is designed to better reflect the true cost of providing high-quality child care, including paying the child care workforce a thriving wage.  Did not pass.

Previously: Schuyler Center Statement in Response to the FY2025 NYS Budget