Thanks to you, 6,000 members of our online Advocacy Network, and coalitions of dozens of organizations statewide, the New York State Assembly and Senate passed five important bills supporting our community’s children.  The Children’s Agenda advocated for them all in visits to legislators with parents directly affected by the issues, data analysis, testimony at hearings, and hours on Zoom calls strategizing with our advocacy partners.  Now we are counting on (and advocating for) Governor Cuomo to sign all five into law, including:

• Child Poverty Reduction Act (A1160-C/S2755-C) makes New York the first in the nation to formally establish a state goal to cut child poverty in half in ten years, calling out the policy options and establishing the accountability measures to support reaching the goal.  You can urge the Governor to sign this into law by  clicking here. 
• Covered Lives for Early Intervention (A5339/S5560-A) establishes a new $40 million revenue stream to expand timely access to Early Intervention services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities.   
• Preschool and School-Age Special Education School Payment Parity (A8013/S6516-A) ensures  children with developmental delays or disabilities receive rate increases for their education commensurate with the level of support for public schools in the annual state budget. 
• Child Care Availability Task Force (A7721-A/S7128). Extending the Task Force allows The Children’s Agenda and other advocates to monitor the implementation of its recommendations and the state’s use of the landmark federal stimulus funds.
• Child Care Direct Deposit Bill (A5840-A/S5162-A).  The direct deposit helps modernize provider payments without unnecessary delays and likely saves counties money in administration.  

Medicaid, maternal and child health funding:  Also of note is that New York State Medicaid has agreed to fund the expansion of home visiting screens for mothers and newborns in Monroe and Chemung counties.  Our regional funding arm for Medicaid reform,  the Finger Lakes Performing Provider System, will also likely fund expansion of maternal and child health programs locally, too.

Please take action to urge Governor Cuomo to sign these bills into law.  We are deeply grateful to you for speaking up for children and youth, who depend on all of us to be their voice in Albany.

Assemblymember Harry Bronson speaks at a press conference celebrating the passage of the Child Poverty Reduction Act in the NYS Legislature

Related Stories

• Lawmakers, advocates urge Cuomo to sign Child Poverty Reduction Act (WBFO)
• Bronson, New York State Legislature pass measure with goal of halving child poverty (Democrat & Chronicle)
• New York Legislature aiming to cut child poverty in half over 10 years (WHEC)
• Child Poverty Reduction Act passes, goal to cut child poverty in half by 10 years (WROC)
• Advocates praise passage of Childhood Poverty Reduction Act in State Legislature (WHAM)

Our community wants to support our youth's social-emotional, mental and physical health. We need more transparency and accountability in City decisions.

While pandemic restrictions are slowly being lifted and many Rochester residents are returning to some sense of normalcy, the healing from losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic has just begun. 

Recovery Context for City Children

• As a result of the loss of employment and reduction of hours for adults, approximately 10,000 children in Monroe County were newly entered into or were considered near poverty in June 2020.
• Rochester (like every other district) saw significant declines in enrollment in pre-K education during the time of remote learning. As reported by RCSD staff in the Early Childhood Department, pre-K enrollment in 2020-2021 is down by about 1,000 children. Additionally, 500 -700 5-year-olds who would normally be enrolled in and attending kindergarten are unaccounted for.
• The estimated days of learning lost in RCSD were, on average, 124 school days in English and 230 school days in Math. It is important to remember that these estimates are only for the impact of school disruption from March -June 2020. They do not account for the impact of remote and hybrid learning from September 2020–present.

Read the Executive Summary of our Analysis

Happy Pride Month!  All of us draw strength from our sense of self – who we are, where we belong, what drives us, and what makes us uniquely ourselves.  That sense of personal identity is what comprises our relationships, and our relationships are what comprise our sense of personal identity -- all our beliefs, and all our actions. 

For children and youth still developing physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially, nothing is more fundamental to a sense of personal identity than sexual orientation and gender expression.  The social signals children get about their identity, particularly from close family and friends, but also from the worlds of schools, sports, religion, medicine, popular culture, public authority figures, the news (etc.), can either support or... (Read more)

“Leave No One Behind” – read our celebration of Juneteenth.

Earlier this month, our community lost an inspirational leader and friend to children, Sandy Parker.

Sandy, who served on The Children's Agenda's Board of Directors from 2015 to 2017, was  best known for her role as the president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance. 

Sandy was a tireless champion for the Rochester community and will be deeply missed.