by Schuyler Center | Nov 22, 2021 | Child Poverty
The Child Poverty Reduction Act, S.2755C/A.1160C, has been delivered to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk, and today we are urging the Governor to sign this crucial bill into law.
Support for the Child Poverty Reduction Act is widespread and bipartisan. It swept through the Legislature with near-unanimous support from upstate and downstate, rural, urban, and suburban legislators and constituents, as well as having bipartisan co-sponsorship.
Last week, dozens of child advocacy, child care, health, child welfare, and poverty fighting organizations co-signed a letter asking Governor Hochul to sign the bill.
The Child Poverty Reduction Act provides New York with the tools needed to reduce child poverty. It makes a public commitment to cutting child poverty in half in ten years; requires an annual public report of the effects of budget proposals on child poverty and regular reporting on progress; and establishes the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council to develop a plan to achieve the goal.
For too long, New York has allowed hundreds of thousands of children to endure the hardships of poverty—in times of recession, and in times of plenty: New York entered the pandemic with more than 700,000 children living in poverty, representing 18% of all New York children, with that percentage a full 10 points higher for Black children, and 7 for Latino children. It’s time to do better.
We know that Governor Hochul is a partner in prioritizing New York’s children and families as the state not only recovers from the impact of the pandemic, but takes a deep look at its priorities and commits to doing better in the areas where the promise of opportunity has not been fulfilled.
It cannot wait any longer: the time is now for New York State to commit to a brighter future for all of our children. Signing the Child Poverty Reduction Act into law makes that commitment.
by Helen Smith | Sep 27, 2021 | Child Poverty
Census poverty data released on September 14, 2021 delivered some promising news: the pandemic stimulus interventions – particularly the expanded child tax credit – reduced the national child poverty rate (SPM) by 3% (4.6 million children). Now, to build on this progress, we are looking to Governor Hochul to sign and enact the Child Poverty Reduction Act, S.2755C/A.1160C as one of her first acts as Governor. The bill, with bi-partisan co-sponsorship, swept through the Legislature last spring with near-unanimous support from upstate and downstate, rural, urban, and suburban legislators and constituents. Signing this legislation would serve as a declaration from New York’s leaders of the State’s intent to cut child poverty in half in ten years, while simultaneously advancing racial equity. The Child Poverty Reduction Act provides New York the tools needed to reduce child poverty. It commits to cutting child poverty in half in ten years, requires an annual public report of the effects of budget proposals on child poverty and regular reporting on progress, and establishes the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council to develop a plan to achieve the goal. As New York mounts its recovery from the pandemic, this legislation will ensure that our children are centered in that recovery.
The pandemic relief federal stimulus has been lifesaving to families who continue to be hit hard by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly families with young children still ineligible for the vaccine. Since the pandemic hit New York, its impacts have caused hundreds of thousands more children and families to fall into poverty or near-poverty (FPL), in addition to the 700,000 children living in poverty, or 18% of all New York children, living in poverty before the pandemic struck. Racial inequities have widened and been laid bare. By March 2021, 31% of New York adults reported it had been somewhat or very difficult to pay for usual household expenses and 24% reported not being current on rent or mortgage, with eviction or foreclosure in the next two months likely.
The Child Poverty Reduction Act positions New York to build on recent important wins for New York children, including the state minimum wage increase, and the recently released plan of the Child Care Availability Task Force to dramatically expand access to affordable, quality child care. These are important springboards for progress, but not enough on their own to ensure we achieve a significant—and lasting—reduction in child poverty in New York.
For our children experiencing poverty, every day that we fail to prioritize ending child poverty puts them more at risk for material hardship and negative long-term outcomes. The experience of poverty and trauma in childhood can have long-lasting impacts on development. The toxic stress of poverty can alter the brain development of young children—causing permanent changes in the structure and functioning of the brain. As a result, many children who experience poverty face significant challenges—in the form of poor health, academic obstacles, and lower earnings—for the rest of their lives. With the stakes so high, there should be no delay in tackling child poverty in every inch of our great state.
Learn more about our work to reduce child poverty in New York:
by Helen Smith | May 5, 2021 | Child Poverty
Join us in calling upon New York leaders to make a binding commitment, this year, to cut child poverty in New York in half in ten years by passing the Child Poverty Reduction Act (S.2755A/A.1160A). Momentum is growing around this bill. It has more than 20 co-sponsors each in New York’s Assembly and Senate.
Why this matters:
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 30% of New York State’s Black children lived in poverty; due to structural, historic, and ongoing racism, Black children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than their Non-Hispanic white peers. The recently passed federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will jumpstart child poverty reduction efforts by bringing to New York an influx of new–but temporary–supports for families, including a dramatically expanded federal Child Tax Credit, and nearly two billion in federal child care relief funds. For New York to ensure an equitable, sustained recovery that prioritizes supporting children, families, and communities now, and in the future, the time is now to pass the Child Poverty Reduction Act.
The Child Poverty Reduction Act provides New York the tools needed to reduce child poverty. It creates a public commitment to cutting child poverty in half in ten years.
Take action now to help get this bill passed and to the Governor’s desk before this legislative session ends!
by Helen Smith | Apr 23, 2021 | Child Poverty
On April 13, 2021 the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Social Impact Review published an interview with Schuyler Center board member James W. Lytle, Esq., a Senior Fellow with the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University; Kate Breslin, Schuyler Center President and CEO; and Dede Hill, Director of Policy.
James Lytle: Tell me a little bit about the Schuyler Center and its mission. How does [reducing child poverty] fit into the history and focus of it?
Kate Breslin: Well, I’ll start by noting that in New York State there are over 6,000 registered lobbyists. And most of them are not advocating for structural and systemic change that benefits low-income children and families. We are, and we work collaboratively with anybody who we can, but the reality is there are a lot of entities lobbying New York State government for self-interest.
Kate went on to discuss the history and mission of Schuyler Center—its roots in working collaboratively to advocate for structural and systematic change that benefits New York’s low-income children and families. The organization is coming upon its 150th anniversary, and this the child poverty initiative marks a cornerstone for Schuyler as it move toward its sesquicentennial.
The Child Poverty Reduction Act (S.2755A / A.1160A), a bill presently in both the Assembly and Senate that would commit New York’s legislators and governor to cutting child poverty in half in the next 10 years. The core objective is simple and matter of fact: set a goal of cutting child poverty in half, generate a group of people to make concrete recommendations to achieve that goal, and measure the progress.
Mr. Lytle moved on to ask about the current state of child poverty in New York, which is staggering, and has only become worse since we entered the pandemic.
Dede stressed that New York families at the poverty level are one missed paycheck or illness away from things unraveling in their economic lives. Kate added that children living in poverty and facing the stresses associated with it can develop significant and cumulative negative effects. A child whose family is experiencing poverty may also be experiencing food and housing insecurity and other challenges and those effects can be cumulative: they can affect a child’s capacity for succeeding in school, which then can have lasting effects on the ability to earn income, as the evidence is really showing.
Getting it through legislation this year will be a challenge, but that is also one of the very reasons that it really needs to happen this year, said Dede. “We are in the middle of a pandemic and we are facing extraordinary budget challenges.”
Kate added that this initiative simply cannot be an afterthought. “What we often hear is ‘we’ll get to that after whatever the other thing is.’ We’re working hard to make it not an afterthought, but a part of that rebuilding.”
Read the full interview
Go to our child poverty page
by Helen Smith | Jan 20, 2021 | Child Poverty
On December 15, 2020, the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy participated in a Facebook Live Virtual Legislative Briefing to discuss the New York Childhood Poverty Reduction Act sponsored by Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry Bronson. This event was the launch of our Campaign to End Child Poverty, our public announcement that we and our core partners are undertaking a campaign to reduce child poverty in New York State by 50% in ten years.
The child poverty rate in New York—and nationally—has been high for too long. New York’s child poverty rate has languished at or near 20% since at least the year 2000. During the Great Recession which began in 2008, the child poverty rate jumped to 23% in 2011, but did not lower to previous levels until 2018, ten years later. In 2019, just before the pandemic, the child poverty rate had decreased one more percentage point, reaching 18% for the first time in at least 19 years. In terms of child poverty, we are in a crisis that has lasted well over a decade.
“It took New York a decade to tangibly reduce child poverty after the Great Recession. We must do better post-pandemic.” – Dede Hill, the State of New York’s Children 2021 Virtual Data Briefing
The effects of poverty on children are staggering. Not only can it negatively affect their social, emotional, and cognitive well-being, it can create and widen disparity in academic performance, and increase the likelihood of child welfare involvement. The data we’ve gathered for our State of New York’s Children 2021 Virtual Data Briefing points to this terrible fact: without targeted policy decisions and programs this rate is not going to go down. In fact, it may continue to increase, especially as we remain in the throes of COVID-19. More than 700,000 New York children were living in poverty at the start of the pandemic. Child poverty has likely skyrocketed during COVID-19; New York State cannot allow this to continue.
What’s standing in our way of finding a solution? Simply put: at the state level, reducing child poverty is not a priority. And the problem is so vast, it takes legislators and decision-makers in multiple policy areas to agree on how to fix it. The good news is that this is what the Childhood Poverty Reduction Act will do: ensure state-level leadership agrees to prioritize child poverty. Since Senator Ramos and Assemblymember Bronson picked up the banner, a resolution began to take shape.
“We have the tools to cut child poverty in New York State. There are evidence-based solutions out there. It’s time to use them!” – Kate Breslin, the State of New York’s Children 2021 Virtual Data Briefing
If the New York Childhood Poverty Reduction Act is passed, New York will be the first state in the country to commit to cutting child poverty in half by 2030 with a focus on racial equity. How can we achieve this goal? Research shows that expanding and strengthening income tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Empire State Child Credit, could make more funds available to hard-working New Yorkers, including immigrants. Other solutions include increasing access to subsidized child care and achieving universal prekindergarten. It’s time for New York State to make this commitment to reduce child poverty by 50% in ten years.
There is new federal attention to child poverty, too. On January 14, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden announced his plan for a $1.9 trillion package that would include direct cash payments, extended unemployment insurance, rent relief, food assistance, keeping essential frontline workers on the job, aid to small businesses.
“These are the key elements to the American Rescue Plan that would lift 12 million Americans out of poverty and cut child poverty in half. That’s 5 million children lifted out of poverty if we move. Our plan will reduce poverty in the Black community by 1/3, to reduce poverty in the Hispanic community by almost 40%.” – then-President-elect Joseph Biden, Stimulus Plan Announcement
We envision a New York where no child is hungry, homeless, or experiences poverty. This effort is just the beginning of a concerted effort to gain as many allies as possible to get this bill passed.
It’s time to commit to ending child poverty in New York State. It’s past time.
If you’re a lawmaker interested in cutting poverty in half in 10 years, please co-sponsor the bill: S.2755/A.1160.
If you’re an advocate who is interested in cutting child poverty in half in ten years, please join the campaign.
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