As we take a pause during this last week of the year, this week’s blog post rounds up some links to news you may have missed, upcoming events, and resources to fuel your advocacy for New York’s families in the new year. Thank you for your support and partnership, and best wishes for a restful end of 2023 and a recharged 2024!
On December 22, Governor Hochul vetoed legislation that would have allowed more New York families to access full-time child care. The bill passed the legislature twice with major, bipartisan support. In a statement, the Empire State Campaign for Child Care urges Governor Hochul “to demonstrate that she truly believes in the transformative change necessary to break down barriers to child care assistance by including this legislation in her upcoming Executive Budget alongside permanent, meaningful investment in the child care workforce and significant progress towards care infrastructure that truly meets the needs of New York’s children and families.”
Schuyler Center’s annual State of New York’s Children Data Bookwas released last week. The 2024 report provides a data snapshot of the well-being of New York’s children and families and the challenges New York families are facing. The book includes data and policy recommendations around child poverty, child welfare, child care, oral health, and Medicaid.
Join us! The State of New York’s Children in-person data briefing will be held on January 17 in Albany. Registration is free but space is limited.
The Resources section of our website includes Schuyler Center reports, testimony, data analysis, policy priorities, fact sheets, and more – all searchable by type, issue category, and keyword. Access Schuyler Center Resources here.
Crystal Charles, Senior Policy Analyst, will participate in a United Way Advocacy Roundtableon Family & Wellbeing on January 19. Find details and registration here.
In 2024, Schuyler Center urges leaders to champion policies that improve health, well-being, and economic security of New York’s families, children, and communities, with a focus on New Yorkers who are working hard to make ends meet. Read our full 2024 Policy Priorities for Child and Family Well-Being.
The New York State Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Councilmet earlier this month. Schuyler Center President and CEO Kate Breslin is an appointed member of the Council. At the December 6 meeting, the group approved and released its 2023 Progress Report.
Looking Back: Key Wins for Families in 2023
– Budget funding to strengthen New York’s Empire State Child Creditso that it now, finally, includes children ages 0-3 for the first time. As a result, this tax credit will reach an additional 600,000 to 900,000 children statewide.
– A long-fought win for a historic update to the child welfare housing subsidy in the state budget. The subsidy will increase from $300 a month to $725 a month for youth exiting foster care and families involved in the child welfare system—the first increase since 1988.
– A commitment to ensuring that people with lived experience have a voice at policy tables on child care, economic security, and the child welfare system, and that they are supported in that work.
That is Schuyler Center’s vision for New York’s future: a future in which every child has the opportunity to thrive, and where well-being is accessible to every family, in every region of the state. Read Schuyler Center’s 2023 Impact Report.
We believe New York’s leaders can and must center the needs of families when making policy decisions. And we are tenacious in delivering that message – along with the data to support it – to the governor, state legislators, government leaders, and policymakers.
Our Supporters Make This Work Possible.
With the support of our donors and funders, Schuyler Center is a trusted leader in advocating for policy that centers children and families, especially those impacted by poverty and inequity.
Since 1872, SCAA’s work has had far-reaching impact. Together, we are proving that meaningful change is possible, and that a just future for all New Yorkers is within reach through effective advocacy, thoughtful analysis, and trusted leadership.
Elizabeth Palley, JD, Ph.D., MSW Professor at the Adelphi University School of Social Work
Schuyler Center welcomes the newest member of the Board of Trustees, Elizabeth Palley. Dr. Palley joined the Board earlier this year. We asked her to share a bit about why she serves on the Board, and what the work of the Schuyler Center means to her.
Why drew you to serve on the Schuyler Center Board? I learned about the Schuyler Center while doing child care advocacy work. I was impressed by the people I worked with from the organization and was thrilled to be asked to serve on the board.
What does the work of the Schuyler Center mean to you? Why is it important? The Schuyler Center does amazing advocacy work on behalf of children and families. They make sure that the needs of the underserved in our communities are part of policy conversations and help center the voices of people from those communities. They help to organize others in the advocacy community so that we can make more of a difference. I have also been impressed with how well they are able to include providers and former providers in their advocacy around child care.
What are your hopes for the future of the organization? I hope that the Schuyler Center will continue to do the good work that it is doing, advocating for immigrant and refugee families, access to health care for low-income families, universal child care, ending child poverty, and promoting family well-being.
Schuyler Center’s newly-released 2023 Policy Guide for Child and Family Well-Being outlines policy priorities, resources, and Schuyler Center’s availability as a partner in policymaking. The Policy Guide is a valuable resource for our partners working on policy and legislation.
The Policy Guide includes:
An overview of The Schuyler Center;
Policy Priorities for Centering Child Well-Being in NYS;
A summary of the resources we make available to support policymaking;
A directory of Our Team of Policy Experts, including the issue areas on which each team member focuses.
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.
Per the minutes of that meeting: On the evening of May 11th 1872 several ladies & gentlemen met at the house of Miss Schuyler, 19 West 31st St., New York, for the purpose of organizing an association in aid of the State Charities of New York.
Schuyler’s plan was to organize county visiting committees of citizen volunteers, charged with visiting and inspecting services for children, “paupers,” and hospital patients and make recommendations for improvements to the proper authorities.
Using visiting committee reports and SCAA’s first annual report which stated that the removal of children from almshouses was one of the most urgently needed public reforms in New York State, Schuyler and SCAA secured passage of the Children’s Law of 1875. In 1881, under Schuyler’s leadership the “right of entrance law” was passed giving interested citizens the right to inspect, visit, and examine any state charitable institution. SCAA next successfully engaged in a four year legislative battle, pressing the State of New York to take responsibility for care of people with mental illness. In 1908, after reading a report with photos of children who were “unnecessarily blind” Schuyler organized the State Committee for the Prevention of Blindness, which eventually became the National Committee for the Prevention of Blindness.
We’re elated to start our 150th year! We’re fighting child poverty; strengthening supports for families; securing investment in the early years of life; and building stronger systems for child health and well-being.
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