January is always a busy month for us. See what we've been up to and where we are focusing our energies at the state level. |
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Hundreds of parents and advocates from across the state converged on the New York State Capitol on Tuesday, January 28th, to rally for a permanent workforce compensation fund for the child care workforce in this year’s budget. "Seeing 20 local parent leaders and advocates take time out of their busy lives to fight for children and the needs of New York families underscores the urgency and impact of collective action in shaping policies that truly serve our communities," said Stevie Vargas, Director of Campaigns and Organizing. "Our parents, in the middle of a windstorm, hopped on a bus at 6am to fight for the needs of families across the state. They met with elected officials to discuss the importance of investing in child care. That is powerful." The Governor's commitment of $122 million in this year's budget to support new child care facility infrastructure is an important piece of the puzzle. At the state level, more than 10,000 child care slots were lost during the Covid pandemic. Recovery of child care capacity has been slow to non-existent in rural and low-income communities. Governor Hochul announced her intentions to establish a coalition to develop a plan for universal child care. Workforce compensation is an essential building block. Currently, child care providers earn less than 97% of all other professions in New York. A permanent state child care fund dedicated to providing sustained and reliable compensation and benefits to the child care workforce is key to a thriving, high-quality child care sector. |
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The state’s Early Intervention system is in collapse and thousands of families are quietly suffering the inability to get their infants and toddlers the developmental assistance they need. The State didn’t obey its own statute to implement a rate increase in April last year. Further, the State plans to cut the impact of any rate increase by cutting their reimbursement rate for telehealth services and by increasing the size of groups receiving services together. Brigit Hurley, Chief Program Officer, and VIP Lynn Mordenga joined a panel discussion on WXXI’s Connections to address this crisis and highlight the life-changing difference EI can make in the lives of our children. We are disappointed that Governor Hochul's State of the State and budget addresses did not even mention Early Intervention. New York State's EI and preschool special education systems are currently out of compliance with federal law and failing to meet the needs of young children with developmental delays and disabilities. Half of children who qualify for these services do not receive them on time, and some age out of the EI program at age three without receiving any services. |
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Our Kids Can't Wait campaign calls on Governor Hochul and the legislature to include remedies to this crisis in her 2025-26 state budget. Read our policy priorities here. |
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| Have you registered for the 2025 Kids Can't Wait Advocacy Day in Albany on February 11th? Space is limited on our bus, so reserve your seat today! You can also meet us in Albany. All are welcome! Let us know your transportation plan using the registration form linked here. Can't join us in Albany? There are many ways you can be part of the Kids Can’t Wait Statewide Parent Network. Read more on our blog here. |
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We celebrate Governor Hochul's bold proposal to expand the state's Empire State Child Credit, devoting $1,000/child/year to children from birth to 3, and $500/child/year from 4 to 16. This will benefit at least 1.6 million families. The Governor's proposal to ensure that the lowest income families can receive the full child credit will lift tens of thousands of families above the poverty level. We look forward to working with the legislature and Governor to secure the strongest possible expansion to the state's child tax credit this year. We are encouraged by the Governor's proposal of other important antipoverty measures that TCA has advocated for in 2025, including $320 million/year to establish universal free school meals for 2.7 million children, and a new monthly cash assistance program to pregnant moms and their infants on TANF for one year at $1,200 Join The Children's Agenda and Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI) on March 5th, 2025 in Albany for Pathways to Progress: A Day of Action. This collaborative event of the NY Can End Child Poverty Now coalition brings together organizations, community leaders, advocates, and legislators to champion policies that support children, individuals, and families on their journey to economic stability and opportunity. Register for our Anti-Poverty Advocacy Day: March 5th 2025 Jason DeLooze, one of our VIPs (Very Invested Parents), speaks out about the work being done to fight child poverty locally and statewide in his blog post: Rochester & Child Poverty: What Can We Do? From City Limits – Hochul Proposes Steps to Reduce Child Poverty, But Will It Be Enough? From The Capitol Pressroom - Advocate for Children Evaluates Hochul's Priorities |
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Very Invested Parents (VIPs) |
Our VIPs have workgroups going to focus their advocacy in these areas: • Child Care • Early Intervention/Kids Can't Wait • Solutions Not Suspensions • Child Poverty VIPs are family members. Together, we learn about how laws and public policies impact children and our families. We organize ourselves, friends and family to take action. We send letters to our representatives and get other people to do the same. We speak up at meetings of school boards, city council, county legislature, and with state government. We rally. We speak to the press. We support one another. If you are interested in becoming a VIP or know someone who might be a good candidate, please email Carmen Torres. |
Congratulations to Diveth Garcia, VIP, for being honored by ROC the Future with their Parent Leader Award! |
Jason DeLooze, Carmen Torres, Tianna Johnson, Janice Kpor, Diveth Garcia, and Makhi Whitley
at the ROC the Future’s State of Our Children Address on Friday, January 17th. |
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| Child Care Child Poverty Health Developmental Services Education Click to read what we intend to achieve in 2025. |
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The Children's Agenda
1 S. Washington Street
Suite 120
Rochester, NY 14614
United States (Unsubscribing is not supported in previews) |
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