About Us
Our Mission
We improve the health, education, and success of children by advocating for effective, equitable policies, especially for families most impacted by poverty, racism, health inequities, and trauma.
Our Vision
Every child has a healthy start in a thriving family and a supportive community.
Our Strengths
We work across systems, from local neighborhoods to the state capitol, and apply our strengths in policy-driven research, effective organizing, and impactful advocacy to improving children’s lives.
At The Children’s Agenda, we focus on initiatives that create positive, long-term change. Because persistent structural racial inequities result in vulnerabilities and worse outcomes for children of color and minoritized children especially, we center the voices and concerns of families with lived experience in all of our policy and advocacy work.
Our Results for Children and Families through the Years
Child Poverty: NYS commits $600M increase to Empire State Child Credit, benefiting 1.6M families and reducing child poverty 8.2% statewide.
Child Care: NYS invests $400M additional funding for Child Care Assistance Program.
Child Care Waitlist bill passes Assembly and Senate.
Education: RCSD opening 5 new mental health satellite clinics next year ⟶ 26 locations with on-site providers in district.
RCSD preserves all Roc Restorative Team staff positions, help zones, and alternatives-to-suspensions rooms.
Health: New York becomes 4th state in nation to provide continuous Medicaid coverage for children, birth to 6, covering 66,000 additional children per year, and 50% of all births in NYS.
Developmental Services: Won first Early Intervention rate increase for nearly all providers in decades, affecting 65,000 children annually.
Child Poverty: 993,700 more NY infants and toddlers benefit from inclusion in the Empire State Child Credit.
Education & Health: RCSD develops new plan committing to school-based mental health supports in all schools, including telemedicine and health centers.
Education: RCSD funds 5 new school-based mental health centers.
Developmental Services: TCA launches statewide Kids Can’t Wait coalition to organize and advocate for equitable, high-quality Early Intervention services. Coalition currently has 40 organizational members.
Child Poverty: NYS Child Poverty Reduction Act signed into law, impacting 895,000 children and setting goal to cut poverty in half by 2031.
Developmental Services: Covered Lives Assessment for Early Intervention services passed in NYS.
Parent Leadership: Very Invested Parents (VIP) advocacy leadership program launched.
Education: TCA successfully advocates for City of Rochester to end funding armed police in RCSD schools
Education: Released report on school to prison pipeline demonstrating that RCSD’s new code of conduct led to declines in courses being failed by students with at least one suspension and by ALL students.
Developmental Services: Won 5% rate increase for some Early Intervention provider therapists and 15% increase in reimbursement rates for Preschool Special Education.
Early Childhood: TCA helps secure $4.75M in early childhood supports to help 1,100 families in Rochester.
Justice: Raise the Age signed into law, keeping 22,000 youth out of state prisons.
Health: Worked with Monroe County to strengthen Child Protective Services through expanded workforce and increased compensation.
Health: Monroe County commits to increase child abuse prevention program funding by $1.5M more in 2018.
Education: Advantage After School program expands with a $3M increase in NYS funding.
Health: Paid Family Leave signed into law in NYS, benefiting 6.4M families. By 2022, 117,851 families use it for newborn and infant care annually.
Child Care: NYS increases funding for Monroe County child care subsidies by $2.3M.
Health: NFP reaches milestone of helping over 1,000 families in Monroe County since establishment.
Child Care: NYS increases local child care subsidies by $1.4M and commits to $1M more for next year.
Child Care: NYS increases state funding for child care subsidies for low-income families by $3M.
Education: 17 schools in RCSD now offer Coping Power program to students.
Health: NYS files 1115 Medicaid waiver to include full funding for NFP in Monroe County and pilot in other areas of state.
Education: 13 schools in RCSD now offer Coping Power program.
Health: NYS funding restored for $12M to preventive services; $23.6M to home visiting programs; and $900K for Primary Mental Health Project.
NYS commits additional $2.4M of new Medicaid funding for NFP program, helping over 2,000 families statewide and 300 in Monroe County.
$550K in new federal money allocated to NFP in Monroe County.
Education: RCSD expands Coping Power to 5 sites.
Child Care: NYS invests $9M to support child care for 1,000 children in working families.
Monroe County commits to $5.4M increase in funding for subsidies, allowing 800 more children to receive subsidized care.
Education: City allocates $50K to fund Coping Power violence prevention program at 3 schools.
Health: NYS commits $4M of new Medicaid funding to NFP for 2009-10.
Health: NYS commits $2.4M in additional funding for NFP in Monroe County.
Health: We help launch Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) in Monroe County to support health and well-being of low-income, first-time parents and their babies. Within 1 year, NFP is serving 200+ families.
The Children’s Agenda incorporates
