JANUARY 11, 2022 – The Schuyler Center has published its 2022 State of New York’s Children Data Book.
State of New York’s Children: Summary
For many New York families, 2021 brought critical public supports, including a third federal pandemic stimulus payment and an expanded monthly child tax credit, buffering many from the pandemic’s sharpest economic impacts. Yet, New York families and children are not out of jeopardy. In December 2021, both the US Surgeon General and the American Academy of Pediatrics sounded the alarm about an escalating mental health crisis facing the nation’s youth. With COVID resurging, parents are once again juggling work with remote schooling, child care closures, and quarantine, and worrying anew about how to keep their children—particularly young children ineligible for vaccines—safe. Despite the challenges, as the data in this book show, there is good reason to believe that with continued strong public health measures; effective, equitable government interventions; and a bold, innovative rebuilding strategy, the future for New York children is bright.
Much of the data in our 2022 book is encouraging. Over 70% of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated, compared to the national average of 62%. The stimulus payments and expanded federal child tax credit kept child poverty from rising; unemployment rates are nearing pre-pandemic levels; public health insurance coverage filled the gaps for many who otherwise would have lost coverage; and many families were saved from eviction by the moratorium. These successful policies underscore the importance of public intervention in improving the well-being of children and families.
The data also underscore the areas of challenge facing the state. Racial disparities persist: in COVID-19 fatalities, parental mental health, maternal and child health, and child welfare. Gender and racial disparities persist in unemployment rates and income. Families continue to struggle with food insecurity and lack of access to health, mental health, and child care. The public, private, and community-based human services that support children and families are experiencing a dire workforce crisis due to historical underfunding, compounded by the impacts of the pandemic. Child poverty rates in New York remain far higher than the national average.
While many of the public policies that have helped families navigate this last tumultuous year are temporary, they show us the way forward. With strong family-focused initiatives, like fully refundable tax credits; high-quality child care and pre-K; paid family leave; fair wages; and access to home visiting, early intervention and mental health care, New York children and families can emerge from the pandemic healthier, stronger, and set up to thrive.
