Our key priority areas for 2026 are:

• Child Care

• Family Economic Security

• Developmental Services

• Education

We will be watching the Governor's State of the State address in January and listening for her policy priorities for children. Then the Executive Budget Proposal process begins. Stay tuned for action alerts!

The Children’s Agenda has just released our 2025 Statewide Voter Poll results on issues including child care, affordability & family economic security, Early Intervention services, and education (Pre-K to 12).

Click to read or download our voter insights.

Key findings:

At a time when cost of living concerns trump everything else, voters want their state leaders to spend more, not less, on helping families and children – even in the face of federal funding cuts. Even when presented with a strong argument in favor of fiscal responsibility, two-thirds of voters believe the state needs to invest in families and children

Family-friendly policies should be central political and legislative narratives in 2026. These policies garner rare cross-partisan support. Across party lines, large majorities of voters want to make housing, health care, and child care more affordable for low-income families. There’s also bipartisan support for universal child care and pre-K; increasing funding for afterschool; investing in school-based mental health and counseling programs; and increasing the reimbursement rate for EI therapists.

Parents are a critical voting bloc. As a group, they split evenly on partisanship, making them more Republican-leaning than the rest of the electorate. However, as they evaluate these policies, their worries about making ends meet are more determinative than their political leanings. They are highly receptive to policies that help families and children and are looking for leaders who will embrace them.

Read the exclusive coverage from POLITICO's Madina Touré on our website.

The Monroe County adopted budget for 2026 includes $11.3 million in leftover funds for Child Care Assistance, for a total of $105 million in the budget. As Yversha Roman, President of the Monroe County Legislature said, this unspent rollover funding is a "commitment to ensure enrollment continues" to support working families' sustained access to affordable child care.

Join The Children's Agenda and the Empire State Campaign for Child Care for Advocacy Day in Albany!

January 27, 2026

Register today to reserve your seat on the bus.

ICYMI: Read the ESCCC's comprehensive plan, authored primarily by TCA's Policy Director, on how to scale up to universal child care.

New York State Child Care for All

Click the link to access the full report and the executive summary on our site.

Want to hear more? Check out Pete Nabozny's interview with David Lombardo of The Capitol Pressroom: Possible first steps on road to universal child care.

Research shows that affordability is the biggest challenge families face right now, and the line between “getting by” and “in crisis” is thinner than ever. Check out the statistics in your county on our County level research page.

From meeting daily basic needs like groceries, utility bills, rent, and child care, to unplanned expenses like car repairs and medical bills – as TCA parent leader Tiffany says, “Everything is going up but your pay.”

Read our latest blog post from Shannon Mullin, Senior Policy Analyst: Family Affordability at a Glance in NYS

ARC Rochester invited Isabel Rosa, Community and Parent Advocacy Coordinator, on air this week to talk about the ways our community is addressing child hunger.

The SNS Coalition hosted a "Mass Call" that assembled 139 people eager to replace exclusionary discipline in schools with more evidence-based solutions to behavioral issues. Eamonn Scanlon, Director of Community Impact, reported that 84 people signed on to the campaign's action alert that night.

We are close to passing the Solutions Not Suspensions bill, with only 10 more co-sponsors needed to get to a majority in both houses.

You can help us get there by sending a letter to your state representatives today.

Let’s make 2026 the year we move away from harmful exclusionary discipline and towards evidence-based solutions that support children’s education!

Click to read the KCW priorities for New York State in 2026. 

The KCW Statewide Parent Leadership Network held a training this week. One of our very own VIPs, Lynn Mordenga, led attendees through a collaborative and interactive power mapping activity. Senior Advocacy Coordinator Sushmitha Madaboosi reports that KCW parent leaders across the state are having meaningful discussions about power and what it takes to influence our lawmakers to invest in EI.  

In the news:  Greece School District needs to spend more on special education to make up for lack of early intervention – WXXI News 

Join us in Albany for the Kids Can't Wait Advocacy Day trip on February 10th, 2026!

This is a great opportunity for you to speak directly to legislators and demand funding in the 2026 New York State budget for Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education!

We will provide training and materials before we get to Albany so you can confidently advocate with legislators. Sign up today to reserve your seat on the bus!