Why Schuyler Center Focuses on Children and Families Impacted by Poverty

The foundational principle of Louisa Lee Schuyler’s work was that democracy could, and must, be made to work in those areas appropriate to it.

When Louisa founded SCAA in 1872, she focused her efforts on organizing and bringing a voice to communities and their disenfranchised members in order to inform and influence government policy, believing government must be made to function well for all.

We do the same today. Schuyler Center effectively shares data and advocates for evidence-based approaches and policies that center the most disadvantaged New Yorkers.

We focus on families and children living in poverty because we must — for many reasons, including:

• Hundreds of thousands of New York’s children live in families below 100% of the federal poverty level and when children in low-income families just above poverty are included, the number exceeds a million children;

• The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that poverty and other adverse social determinants have a detrimental effect on child health and are root causes of child health inequities;

• Poverty and racial inequities are inextricably linked, with children of color experiencing poverty and near poverty at nearly twice the rate of white children and existing systems perpetuate this;

• Poverty and child welfare are linked, with children living in lower income families at higher risk of experiencing childhood traumas, which are correlated with health and socio-economic problems as adults;

• Poverty among young adults is climbing and now sits at nearly 20%;

• Poverty contributes to negative outcomes for children, including disparities in school-readiness and continued lags in learning.

Our state and country were founded on principles of equality. We have a long way to go.

And we won’t stop.

Visit the Policy Priorities page to learn more about our data analysis and advocacy.