Child advocacy organizations such as The Children’s Agenda said the increased pre-K access will provide more young learners with a chance to build foundational skills, including reading, identifying colors and simple math. “About 90% of a child’s brain develops before they even enter the formal school system at age 5.…

Board commissioners who voted against the contracts expressed concerns about overpolicing students, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the cost of the programs, which total $968,800. To date, $3.3 million has been budgeted for the program. “Fear isn’t always the best way to get to the right solution or to the solution…

The Children’s Agenda Director of Policy Pete Nabozny discusses a recent survey of Monroe County parents who receive social services and considers how the administration of these programs can be improved across New York.

The Children’s Agenda published a new report on Thursday that aims to give New York state officials recommendations on how to make it easier to enroll in public assistance programs like WIC, SNAP, and Medicare.

The Children’s Agenda released a new report this week highlighting the experiences of families who apply for public benefit programs. This includes programs like WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid.

A new report from The Children’s Agenda, EdTrust-NY, and Raising New York highlights the need for more accessible public benefits programs in New York. The report surveyed 50 Monroe County families with young children, revealing challenges like confusing applications and long wait times for benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP, and…

School closures are a fact of life in a country as dynamic as the United States.

NPR’s Juana Summers talks with ProPublica ’s Alec MacGillis about his recent reporting on how declining enrollment is a crisis for American public schools.

Rochester, New York, is shutting 11 of its 45 schools. In Seattle, parents expect 20 elementary schools will close. In Columbus, Ohio, nine schools may cease to operate. Closings fall especially on majority-Black schools. As top students move to private and suburban schools, special-needs students are left behind in fewer…

Hevesi’s Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) bill, co-sponsored by State Senator Andrew Gounardes, would consolidate three existing benefits—Empire State Child Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Dependent Exemption—into one omnibus tax credit. The bill’s supporters project it would help 2.4 million families. “Basically, every family with kids in New…

ROC the Future is gearing up to release its annual State of Our Children report. This year's document is a nine-year summary showing areas of progress and what needs further work.

Days after leaders from four Rochester City School unions asked the district to address growing security concerns – including an incident when someone fired a gun outside All City High -- residents spoke out at Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting.

Talks between Rochester school and city officials continued on Wednesday to address violence among students at Rochester City schools.

Students in the Rochester City School District no longer see police officers in their schools. As part of the approval of the city’s budget in June, all 12 school resource officers were removed from RCSD campuses.

The recent pepper spraying of a 9-year-old girl at the hands of Rochester police is leading to a conversation about the "adultification" of Black youth.

In January 2021, a nine-year-old girl in our community was handcuffed and pepper sprayed by police. As a community that cares for children and sees their fundamental humanity, we must ask how we got to this point, where children of color are viewed as a threat, restrained and assaulted by the…

In episode 11 of Together for Change, our host Christian Motley talks with community leaders from Rochester, New York, and StriveTogether President and CEO Jennifer Blatz on how parents can lead change in their communities

ROC the Future, which focuses on bettering the lives of children, gave an update on the impact of the pandemic.

Children’s advocates say there are stories of success in the Rochester City School District, however there exist wide differences in outcomes within the district’s various schools.

Saying that he is fortunate to go to a warm home where there is dinner every night, 16-year-old Isaiah Santiago expressed the desire to help others at least have a Thanksgiving meal.

With the election just a month away, a few local advocacy groups held a forum where candidates running for office in the state Assembly and the state Senate were able to weigh in on topics affecting families in our area.

The looming threat of a 20% cut in state education funding has school districts across New York anxious — but, as is often the case, it is urban districts like Rochester that stand to suffer the most.

ACT Rochester is sending out a call to action, after publishing a new report that finds that minorities in Rochester are facing huge challenges in education, housing and economics.

The Rochester Area Community Foundation has established a COVID Education Fund to urgently support the purchase of technology and home internet access for students who don’t have reliable or high-speed internet access or computers in their homes.

A Rochester non-profit, dedicated to speaking for some of Monroe County's most vulnerable residents, went before the legislature Thursday evening to present a "report card" on how it believes the county's 2020 budget will serve the children who live there.

What is the so-called “school-to-prison pipeline”? Local organizations are planning a town hall event to educate the community about their concerns. It starts with school discipline, suspension levels, and expulsion.

A new report says the percentage of children living in areas of concentrated poverty has dropped in 29 states, but here in New York the numbers remain unchanged.

Our policy director, Pete Nabozny, discusses the impact of possible Trump administration changes to the SNAP benefit program. The result, according to the administration, will be the removal of more than three million people from the program.

Women of color make significantly less than white, non-Latino men over the course of their careers

In New York State, black women earn 65 cents for every dollar a non-Hispanic white male makes doing similar work. A local group is trying to change that.

TCA Director of Policy, Pete Nabozny, guests on the WBAI radio show, Living for the City, to discuss the release of the 2019 Kid’s Count Data Book and what the data shows for children living in New York State. Pete's appearance came at the 34 minute mark of the program.

Eamonn Scanlon, education and policy analyst for The Children’s Agenda, is a guest on the Connections program, discussing segregation, which has become a charged national issue once again.

New York is one of the richest states in the nation, but a new report shows the state’s children are not sharing in that wealth. The 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks New York 42nd in the nation for the economic well-being of its children.

Historically African American hair has been the center of controversy. Whether worn as an afro, braids or dreadlocks, African Americans have faced what they say is discrimination in the workplace.

Hank Rubin, board member of The Children’s Agenda, retired VP of Rochester Area Community Foundation and former advisor to the US Commission on Civil Rights, discusses recognizing and doing something about racism in our own behavior.

Jackie Campbell, director of ROC the Future at The Children’s Agenda, and member of Table 23, is a guest on Connections, discussing issues surrounding race.