The research is clear: Attending Pre-Kindergarten leads to short- and long-term improvements in children’s academic and behavioral outcomes. Rochester’s decades-long evaluation study, RECAP, has consistently found that UPK increases rates of kindergarten readiness, particularly for students who enroll in both three- and four-year-old classes. Every child in New York deserves a quality education, beginning in Pre-Kindergarten, to be the basis for their future success. 

Governor Hochul has proposed $561 million (a 52.5% increase) for additional support to ensure universal full-day Pre-K for all four-year-olds in New York state by the start of FY 2029. This aligns with the recommendations in the report we released with our partners at the Alliance for Quality Education last fall.

We encourage lawmakers to include these essential investments in education in the Assembly and Senate "one house" budgets. Furthermore, New York must invest in continuity of care by ensuring both the UPK and the child care systems receive adequate funding in order to foster win-win collaboration rather than  zero-sum competition.

Want to hear more? Senior Policy Analyst Shannon Mullin, MPH appeared on Capitol Pressroom last week!

The Children's Agenda and Liftoff WNY recently released a new report: Rural Realities: The State of Child Care in Western New York.

Rural communities across Western New York face some of the toughest - and least talked about - child care challenges in the state. Even with recent policy changes that have expanded access to child care, many rural families and child care providers are still struggling with staff shortages, limited options, enrollment closures, and funding systems that don’t always reflect local needs. 

Children who live in rural communities deserve access to high-quality child care just like their peers living in urban and suburban areas. Our report highlights the unique dynamics facing families and child care providers operating in rural Western New York. State and community leaders should carefully study the report findings and adopt its recommendations.

On February 14th, TCA Very Invested Parent (VIP) Jhalysa Johnson spoke at a panel discussion on child care as part of the 55th annual New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislators Inc. Legislative Caucus weekend in Albany. Jhalysa shared her perspective on how critical child care assistance is to her family, and how New York State must make reforms to make it easier for families to access the program.

Read recent news coverage of TCA's child care efforts here:

Kids Can’t Wait supporters made a strong showing in Albany on February 10th, with 95 parents, providers, advocates, and doctors carrying the message that infants and toddlers with delays and disabilities can’t wait!

At 30 meetings with legislators and legislative staff, participants told personal stories, shared facts, and presented the campaign's priorities. And given the Governor’s child care proposals, attendees emphasized that child care isn’t universal unless it includes children with disabilities.

Staff and VIPs rode the bus to Albany with members of Citizen Action-Roc, ROC the Future, Teen Empowerment, Roc the Peace. We were delighted to have 7 Teen Empowerment students and 4 Roc the Peace teens travel with us to gather with more than 318 people at the State Capitol!

Thank you to VIPs Varlen Brisard, Annissa Hines, Jezare Hood, Tianna Johnson, Chrissy Miller, Ana Ramos, and Eva Wood for attending, speaking with legislators, and connecting with other advocates. A special shout-out to Eva for her amazing rally speech!

Parents are a driving force in the Kids Can't Wait campaign, and we appreciate our VIPs Annissa Hines, Tianna Johnson, Chrissy Miller,  and Lynn Mordenga for spending their day advocating.

Special thanks to Tianna and Lynn for serving as team leads - making sure their teams made it to all their meetings, every advocate had a chance to speak, important materials were left with legislators, AND everyone made it back to the bus!

We also want to give kudos to United for Brownsville for training and bringing 4 parent leaders to represent Brownsville in Albany - for the first time!

We were delighted to see three of our Very Invested Parents honored by ROC the Future Alliance as part of their 13th Annual State of Our Children Address on Thursday, February 26th. Tamara Wall, Janice Kpor, and Jhalysa Johnson were recognized with Parent Leadership Awards. 

The Children's Agenda is a proud member of ROC the Future Alliance, a community-wide coalition working together to ensure academic success for every child.

Connector, organizer, storyteller, or fighter – if your goal is to make the world better for every child, we want you to join us!

Our Advocacy Groups meet monthly to brainstorm, organize, mobilize, and advocate. From the City of Rochester and Monroe County to Albany, our parent leaders have the lived experience to drive policy agendas and connect through storytelling. To find out more, visit our Advocacy Groups page.

Next up: On March 30th, TCA will be at the State Capitol for Family Empowerment Day, organized by our friends at Families Together in NYS. We'll be advocating for Solutions Not Suspensions and other priorities important to families locally and statewide.  

Want to help send more parent leaders to Albany to advocate for systems change? Just $15/month sends one parent leader to Albany to meet with legislators about critical issues facing children and families across NY State. Become a Change Maker for Children today and power parent voices.