New York’s State Budget Must Prioritize Affordability for Families– Schuyler Center Statement in Response to One-House Budget Bills
As New York families struggle to afford the cost of living, our state leaders have an opportunity to leverage this year’s budget to bolster family economic security statewide.
Schuyler Center is encouraged to see many proposals in the Senate and Assembly budget bills that will support children and families, especially those struggling to make ends meet. We appreciate both houses’ willingness to listen to the solutions necessary to make New York a place where families can afford to put down roots.
The inclusion of investments that will have the biggest impact on those with the lowest incomes must be a priority as the final budget is negotiated. These proposals include robust tax credits, continuous Medicaid coverage for the youngest children, and making child care assistance more accessible to the many parents who work variable hours in retail, the trades, and the gig economy. By uplifting New Yorkers most in need, our leaders can create more opportunities for all children and families to thrive right here in New York.
Among the proposals with the highest potential to cut child poverty statewide and make New York more affordable for families is the Senate’s proposal to create and begin to implement a new refundable tax credit, the Working Families Tax Credit.
Unfortunately, while all three budget proposals commit to maintaining New York’s historic levels of investment in child care assistance, none include a permanent, sustained investment in the child care workforce. This failure threatens to derail all the state’s progress toward stabilizing the sector and making care available for more children and families. [View Schuyler Center’s Policy Priorities for Child and Family Well-Being.]
Budget Investments that Prioritize Child Poverty Reduction
In 2021, the New York State Legislature passed, and Governor Hochul signed, the Child Poverty Reduction Act (CPRA), committing the State to take action to reduce child poverty by 50 percent. Schuyler Center spearheaded passage of this law and continues to hold New York State accountable for upholding that commitment.
Through the CPRA, New York’s leaders have committed to prioritizing budget investments that will do the most for those with the fewest resources. Accomplishing New York’s child poverty reduction goal requires focused budget and policy actions to meaningfully reduce poverty statewide. We are encouraged by several items across the three budget proposals, including:
Robust and inclusive child tax credits – Both the Senate and Assembly budget bills include proposals that would strengthen the state’s refundable tax credits. To combat child poverty and make New York State more affordable for all families, it is critical that the Enacted Budget include a sustained, robust, refundable family-focused tax credit that targets the highest credit to the lowest income-earners (without an income phase-in), and is available to those who file taxes, but do not have a social security number. The Senate’s proposal to create a new Working Families Tax Credit – which combines the existing child tax credit and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – would immediately drive a significantly larger credit to the lowest income New Yorkers, and longer term provide all eligible New Yorkers a greater credit, making New York State a more affordable place to raise a family.
Funding for the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), as advanced in both Senate and Assembly proposals, would create a state-funded voucher. A commitment of $250 million toward HAVP would have a transformative impact by helping families exit or prevent homelessness
The establishment and funding of a permanent, statewide Healthy School Meals for All program, as is proposed in both Houses’ budget bills, must be included in the Enacted Budget. This would provide school breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students in schools participating in the National School Lunch Program – a strategy proven to reduce food insecurity among children and lift families out of poverty.
Investments in Health Equity for the Youngest New Yorkers
Schuyler Center is pleased to see the inclusion of continuous Medicaid and Child Health Plus coverage for children 0-6 included in all three budget proposals. Forty-five percent of New York children are covered by Medicaid and Child Health Plus. Eliminating the requirement for the youngest New Yorkers to re-enroll every year would ensure that those children have continuous access to health services in the most critical years of their development. We applaud the Executive, Senate, and Assembly for recognizing the importance of this initiative.
Helping Families by Solving the Child Care Crisis
Supporting New York’s families requires addressing the crisis of child care access, affordability, and availability. The state must make a substantial and sustained investment in New York’s child care workforce and extend the promise of care to all children in our state.
As a member of theEmpire State Campaign for Child Care, we appreciate the Senate and Assembly including $220 million in additional funds for child care workforce retention grants, bringing the total investment in the workforce to $500 million. While this falls short of the $1.2 billion that is needed, it is a critical investment in the ‘workforce behind the workforce.’ What is needed in the final budget, however, is a commitment to providing workforce supplements on a permanent basis – as recommended in the Senate resolution.
Transforming Child Welfare
The final state budget must transform the child welfare system by investing in policies that foster transparency and accountability, prevent system-involvement and unnecessary, harmful family separations, reduce institutional placements, and support child, family, and community wellbeing. While there was some action toward these goals, several needed investments were left out of all three budget proposals.
Additional investments needed to support youth and families involved in the child welfare system:
Add a cost-of-living adjustment to the child welfare housing subsidy and allow young people up to age 24 to access it.
Fully fund the Foster Youth College Success Initiative (FYSCI) at $10 million – The Senate proposes $8.2 million for FYSCI and the Assembly proposes $8.6 for FYSCI. By increasing funding to $10 million, more foster youth can achieve education success and support.
Fund a flexible 3.2% cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for human services, instead of targeting the COLA to non-executive positions, and provide $195 million in funding to restructure and raise rates for mental health services.
Invest $80 million to raise salaries and reduce caseloads for lawyers providing legal representation to children and families in Family Court. While the Senate proposes $20 million in funding for increased salaries, it is not enough; we urge our New York leaders to invest $80 million.
Schuyler Center and partners are prioritizing initiatives that support young people who are currently in or exiting foster care or have experience with the child welfare system in their past. The teen and young adult years are difficult for any young person, and the disruption of being involved in the child welfare system exacerbates those difficulties. Young people are making the least money, still in high school or college, and face mental health challenges navigating this chaotic time in their lives. Many young adults may not have the option of returning to a safe, stable home as they create an independent life. For young people in or leaving foster care, it is the state’s responsibility to support them and help ensure they succeed as they transition to independent life.
Access to Mental Health Services When young people are still placed in foster care (institutional placements or foster/kin families), access to mental health services is crucial because family separation is at best disruptive and at worst traumatic. Mental health services provide essential tools to cope with change and loss, as well as help with navigating difficult experiences and memories. Demand for New York’s mental health services has risen as the state’s capacity to provide these services has shrunk. We can begin to change this by investing $195 million into mental health services, specifically by restructuring and raising rates. More information on this proposal can be found here.
Housing Supports One of the main aspects of independent adult life is housing. New York currently provides a child welfare housing subsidy to young people up to age 21 and families in Preventive Services. This subsidy provides $725 a month to eligible young people and families, and allows for roommates. However, there is more work to be done to ensure this housing subsidy can stabilize housing for families and young people:
Add an automatic cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) to the housing subsidy so that it will increase every year with housing prices; and
Extend the age limit from 21 to 24 to ensure that young people who have to leave foster care at 21 have access to the housing subsidy when they need it most.
College Success Getting a college education helps young people break intergenerational cycles of poverty and achieve the life they want for themselves. The Foster Youth College Success Initiative (FYSCI) helps young people who have experienced the child welfare system in their college career, through financial support (i.e. tuition, personal expenses, room and board, transportation, and book) and other services, including academic planning, tutoring, and connection to other student success services available in the school. We can help ensure young people graduate college by funding FYSCI at $10 million this year. More information on FYSCI can be found here.
The Governor must advance policies and investments that will be transformative for New York’s children and families while making New York more affordable for all.
Following yesterday’s State of the State address, Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy is encouraged by Governor Hochul’s attention to health equity, youth mental health, maternal and infant health, paid parental and disability leave, and making New York more affordable for families.
We are especially pleased to see that New York is poised to become the next state to provide continuous coverage in Medicaid and Child Health Plus for the youngest New Yorkers through an intent to apply for Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver authority. As supporters of this policy, we recognize that enacting continuous health coverage for children until they reach age six will keep New York on the forefront of protecting and investing in our youngest children and their families.
At a time when families are leaving New York State, the right investments can keep families here: learning, growing, playing, working, and creating a vibrant future for our state.
Unfortunately, many of Governor Hochul’s policies as presented fall short of meeting the great need that exists, and many needed investments went unmentioned.
As advocates for children and families impacted by poverty, we were concerned to hear the Governor use the language of shared austerity when referring to the state’s budget challenges, suggesting that all New Yorkers must tighten their belts. We urge Governor Hochul and legislative leaders to remember that children from working families and historically underinvested communities must not shoulder the burden of inadequately funded services so the State can close budget gaps.
Child and family well-being is the foundation of a thriving society—these are the investments that pay off for everyone, now and for generations to come. The right funding and policies can help us achieve a vision for New York State in which families can not only afford to stay in New York but choose to stay and flourish here.
There are four policy areas that would create fertile ground for child and family well-being, for all New Yorkers. We look forward to seeing substantial, meaningful investments in each of these areas in Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget:
Child Poverty Reduction — New York State must make good on its promise to substantially reduce child poverty and racial inequity throughout the state, starting by ensuring robust tax credits, housing, and nutritional supports reach all families, no matter where they were born.
Affordable, Accessible, Quality Child Care — It is time for substantial and sustained investment in a child care system that works for everyone. Child care costs are too high for most families, while at the same time child care providers are earning wages so low that they often rely on assistance to make ends meet. New York must invest in the child care workforce and extend the promise of care to all children in our state.
Children’s Health — The state must expand and increase investment in child and family health, including in mental and oral health, as well as in health coverage systems to ensure children have consistent, reliable access to health care.
Child Welfare —It’s past time to transform the child welfare system by investing in policies that foster transparency and accountability, prevent system-involvement and unnecessary, harmful family separations, reduce institutional placements, and support child, family, and community well-being.
We are ready to work with Governor Hochul and State Legislators to continue building a New York State that supports family well-being, in which opportunity is accessible to every child, and where families choose to build their futures.
In 2024, the Schuyler Center urges leaders to champion policies that improve the health, well-being, and economic security of New York’s families, children, and communities, and that prioritize New Yorkers who are working hard to make ends meet. New York State must prioritize policies that focus on the more than 730,000 children living in poverty (19% of all New York children), and Black, brown and immigrant New York children and their families. These New Yorkers continue to be among those hardest impacted by the after-effects of the pandemic.
Goal 1: Child Poverty Reduction — Reduce child poverty and racial inequity, starting by ensuring tax credits, housing, and nutritional supports reach all families, no matter where they were born.
Goal 2: Child Care — Make a substantial and sustained investment in New York’s child care workforce and extend the promise of care to all children in our state.
Goal 3: Children’s Health — Expand and increase investment in child and family health.
Goal 4: Child Welfare — Transform the child welfare system by investing in policies that foster transparency and accountability, prevent system-involvement and unnecessary, harmful family separations, reduce institutional placements, and support child, family, and community wellbeing.
Schuyler Center’s Last Look is our initial assessment of the enacted State budget and how it advances priorities that improve the health and well-being of all New Yorkers, especially children and families living in poverty.
During the Last Look Live webinar held on May 9, Schuyler Center’s Policy Team provided an overview of budget actions related to our policy priorities.
Kate Breslin discussed child poverty reduction measures, Crystal Charles gave an overview of child welfare investments, Katie Albitz provided an update on budget actions related to child care, and Lara Kassel and Bridget Walsh discussed investments in health and well-being. Dede Hill highlighted additional Schuyler Center policy priorities for the remainder of this legislative session.
In Governor Hochul’s State of the State address, she outlined a New York Dream that is accessible to everyone. For children and families who are experiencing poverty, this year’s state budget cracks open the door to that dream just a little wider.
This year’s budget is a story of partial solutions in place of bold and transformative policy. Through the unified power of child poverty fighters and the tenacity of legislative champions, this year’s state budget includes an expansion of the Empire State Child Tax Credit to include babies and toddlers under age four. This means that the child tax credit will reach an additional 600,000 to 900,000 children statewide. We celebrate this expansion; it has been a very long time coming!
For real poverty fighting impact, we will continue to advocate to 1.) remove the child tax credit’s phase-in that limits the credit amount provided to the lowest income families, and 2.) increase the credit amount from the current maximum of just $330 per year and build in a mechanism to keep up with rising costs. [Schuyler Center Statement on Child Tax Credit Expansion in the NYS Budget]
We’re encouraged that this year’s State budget includes a historic update to the child welfare housing subsidy. Starting next year, the child welfare housing subsidy will increase from $300 a month to $725 a month, a long overdue update to a subsidy that has not been increased since it was established in 1988. This subsidy is a lifeline to families involved in the system and youth aging out of foster care, seeking a life of safety and independence. [Child and Family Advocates’ Statement on the 2023-24 New York State Budget: Historic update to the child welfare housing subsidy]
The budget also includes notable investments in child care. These are measures that will make a tangible difference in the lives of children and families, including expanding access to child care by extending eligibility for assistance to pay for child care to families earning up to 85% of the state median income ($93,258 for a family of four), capping copays, an online application, and the elimination of some administrative barriers that prevent families from receiving the help they need. The budget also contains a small pilot program to help the families of children who are currently excluded from child care assistance due to their immigration status. [Empire State Campaign for Childcare Response to 23-24 Budget]
While each of these actions represents progress, we still have a long way to go. The door to the New York dream should be wide open for every New Yorker, regardless of zip code or income or race. Schuyler Center will continue advocating for the bold policy solutions that New York’s children and families need, especially those experiencing poverty, inequity, and systemic racism. [Schuyler Center End of Session Policy Priorities 2023]
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