As longtime advocates for improving educational outcomes for Rochester students, The Children’s Agenda understands the District’s difficulty balancing its budget each year, especially given the structural deficit from declining enrollment and delay in the budget process from Albany. 

70 RCSD parent leaders in our Very Invested Parents group have been meeting with school board members these past few months to encourage increased investment in mental health, school climate/alternatives to suspensions, and school meals. Our children are not ready to learn when they struggle with depression or anxiety, are suspended unnecessarily, or are trying to concentrate on an empty stomach. 

Parents, students, teachers, and Rochester residents are making their demands clear – at a public rally, at hearings, and through the more than 185 emails sent to District leaders – that the District needs to increase investments in mental health, school climate, and food services for students.

Read more about our educational advocacy with and for children and families in Rochester:

Many thanks to our longtime partners Adrian Hale and Wade Norwood for voicing their support for Early Intervention funding increases in an Op-Ed published in the Times Union on April 24th:

"American abolitionist and social advocate Frederick Douglass is thought to have said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” A February 2026 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association affirms that truth, reinforcing what decades of research have shown: Intervening early in the life of a child with developmental delays and disabilities is far better than waiting until they enter school." Read the full piece on our website here.

Our Kids Can't Wait (KCW) campaign recently kicked off Take Action Tuesdays and will continue until a state budget is passed, encouraging KCW supporters to raise their voices so that policymakers understand the need to support early childhood developmental services in the NYS budget. 

In March, 61 organizations signed on to the campaign letter to Governor Hochul and legislators in support of Kids Can't Wait's state budget priorities.

Over 170 constituent letters have been sent in April and May by New Yorkers to Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie in support or priorities: Final Chance to Speak on the State Budget: Tell Lawmakers to Invest in Kids Early!

We encourage you to call or send an email to the Governor and Legislative leaders and to post on social media accounts - use this script: Kids Can't Wait Call-In Day April 2026.

TCA’s Child Care workgroup has been mobilizing, organizing, and advocating for more affordable access and family-friendly support with Monroe County and with New York State. At the last Monroe County Legislature meeting, five Child Care Advocates spoke about our ongoing priorities and thanked the County for their support. 

Our team also submitted comments to Governor Hochul’s ExpressNY regulatory streamlining effort, focusing on ways to make it easier for families to participate in the Child Care Assistance Program.

TCA in the News:

Our advocacy depends on donations from people like you.

Four years ago, Grandma Diane was trying to navigate a system that wasn’t built with families like hers in mind.

Today, she’s the one explaining to state legislators why that system needs to change:

“I know what I’m going in there to talk about. If we don’t have an appointment, we make our own appointment. Grandmothers and great-grandmothers, we have more work to do!”

Diane found her voice through The Children’s Agenda’s Very Invested Parents (VIP) program – and our supporters helped make that possible. Diane has testified at hearings and met with city, county, and state officials, showing them that families are partners in developing policies for child care, education, economic stability, and more:

“I want them to look at us as human beings, not as a number. It’s not just about my babies. It’s about everybody’s babies.”

Parent and grandparent voices are powerful motivators for change. And that's exactly why your support matters so much at this moment.

We're asking you to give today. Your gift enables our parent leaders' ability to advocate: child care while they meet with local leaders, travel to Albany to engage state legislators, and training that prepares families to lead. Your gift is the difference between family voices being in the room – or not.