en English
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germaniw Hebrewit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanish
  • The Agenda
    • Early Childhood
      • Child Care
      • Developmental Services
    • Education (K-12)
    • Health
    • Poverty
    • Racial Equity
  • Our Reports
    • By Area
      • Rochester City School District
      • City of Rochester
      • Monroe County
      • Western & Central New York
      • New York State
      • Federal
    • By Agenda Item
      • Early Childhood
      • Health
      • Education (K-12)
      • Poverty
      • Racial Equity
    • By Initiative
      • Budget Analysis
  • News NEW 
    • E-News NEW 
    • TCA In The News
    • Events
  • Partnerships
    • Interfaith Collaborative
    • All Kids Thrive
    • Local
    • New York State
      • Official Appointments
      • State Coalitions
      • State Partner Organizations
    • National
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Our Funding
    • Join Our Team
    • Volunteer or Intern
    • Link to TCA
    • Board Portal
    • Staff Portal
  • Blogs/Podcast
    • Raising Rochester
    • Our Blog
  • Take Action!
Menu
  • The Agenda
    • Early Childhood
      • Child Care
      • Developmental Services
    • Education (K-12)
    • Health
    • Poverty
    • Racial Equity
  • Our Reports
    • By Area
      • Rochester City School District
      • City of Rochester
      • Monroe County
      • Western & Central New York
      • New York State
      • Federal
    • By Agenda Item
      • Early Childhood
      • Health
      • Education (K-12)
      • Poverty
      • Racial Equity
    • By Initiative
      • Budget Analysis
  • News NEW 
    • E-News NEW 
    • TCA In The News
    • Events
  • Partnerships
    • Interfaith Collaborative
    • All Kids Thrive
    • Local
    • New York State
      • Official Appointments
      • State Coalitions
      • State Partner Organizations
    • National
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Our Funding
    • Join Our Team
    • Volunteer or Intern
    • Link to TCA
    • Board Portal
    • Staff Portal
  • Blogs/Podcast
    • Raising Rochester
    • Our Blog
  • Take Action!
Find My
Representatives
Donate

Lawmakers, advocates urge Cuomo to sign Child Poverty Reduction Act

  • June 18, 2021
Click for Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Lawmakers, advocates urge Cuomo to sign Child Poverty Reduction Act

By JAMES BROWN

  • Foodlink's Julia Tedesco (l) speaks in support of the  Child Poverty Reduction Act, as Assemblymember Harry Bronson (center) and Dr. Pat Brophy of Golisano Children’s Hospital and the American Academy of Pediatrics listen.

    Foodlink’s Julia Tedesco (l) speaks in support of the Child Poverty Reduction Act, as Assemblymember Harry Bronson (center) and Dr. Pat Brophy of Golisano Children’s Hospital and the American Academy of Pediatrics listen.
    JAMES BROWN / WXXI NEWS

    The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act passed overwhelmingly during the state legislative session that wrapped up this week. Now, local leaders are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign it.

    If signed, it would make New York the first state in the nation with a law stating that it intends to cut the child poverty rate in half within 10 years. It would also create a council to make recommendations on how to achieve that goal. Lawmakers and the governor would decide if or how to implement the proposals.

    Larry Marx, CEO of the nonprofit The Children’s Agenda, is a big proponent of the measure. He says it often takes the government to kickstart social change.

    “This isn’t rocket science,” said Marx. “It’s public policies that are the biggest lever to lift families out of poverty.”

    If this sounds familiar, that’s because the council’s structure is similar to other efforts to curb poverty, like the Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative, which has had mixed results.

    Marx said he understands why people would doubt that another board would make a difference. But he said government works best when it works toward lofty goals.

    “There has been a very successful strategy (for) decades in government to throw your hat over the garden fence and climb over to get it,” said Marx. “There is a power in codifying law…an official goal that makes the state accountable.”

    Assemblymember Harry Bronson agreed that accountability is the difference between this and other anti-poverty efforts.

    “There’s reporting mechanisms, there’s analysis that will be done, and there will be a check to see if we’re actually moving toward reaching that goal,” Bronson said. “We’ve not done this before. The only other example I’m aware of, since I’ve been in the state legislature, and was a part of, is to end the AIDS epidemic by 2020.”

    Bronson said the bill’s support within the government, and by the more than 60 nonprofits that backed it, makes its goal of alleviating poverty possible.

    “The commitment is there,” said Bronson. “There are so many of us who either have lived it ourselves or we see it in our communities.”

By Media Outlet

  • City Newspaper
  • Democrat & Chronicle
  • Messenger Post
  • Rochester Beacon
  • Rochester Business Journal
  • Spectrum
  • WHAM
  • WHEC
  • WROC
  • WUHF
  • WXXI
  • Other Media

By Agenda Item

  • Early Childhood
  • Health and Safety
  • Education (K-12)
  • Poverty
  • Racial Equity

Contact Us

The Children’s Agenda
1 South Washington St.
Suite 120
Rochester, NY 14614

Find Us With Google Maps

(585) 256-2620
Facebook Twitter Envelope

Our Mission

The Children’s Agenda advocates for effective policies and drives evidenced-based solutions for the health, education and success of children. We are especially committed to children who are vulnerable because of poverty, racism, health inequities and trauma.

The Agenda

  • Early Childhood
  • Education (K-12)
  • Health and Safety
  • Poverty
  • Racial Equity
  • Early Childhood
  • Education (K-12)
  • Health and Safety
  • Poverty
  • Racial Equity

Proud Member Of...

Partnership for America's Children Logo
RMAPI Logo
GRASA Logo
TRACC Logo
Healthikids logo
Community Task Force on School Climate Logo
Raise the Age NY Logo
winningbeginnings logo

We are a Level Up Champion

© All rights reserved

Scroll Up