FEATURED NEWS

We need to speak with a strong and unified voice. RCSD must keep the promise they made to end the presence of armed police in our schools.  Help us make a difference by contacting the Superintendent and RCSD Commissioners today!

This week’s guest on the Raising Rochester podcast is Eamonn Scanlon. Eamonn is the Education Policy Director at The Children’s Agenda, and focuses a great deal of his work on the Rochester City School District’s budget. He joins the show to discuss challenges with this year’s RCSD budget, Rochester’s somewhat unique budget approval process, budget advocacy priorities, and more. After recording this episode, the RCSD Board of Commissioners narrowly passed the proposed budget, though many board members expressed a great deal of frustration with the way the budget process played out this year.

New York state could soon be engaging in a new push to help reduce child poverty. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act has passed both houses in the State Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature.

  Budgets are value statements. We cannot reduce them to only dollars and cents or spreadsheets and graphs. They require choices and when we choose one thing over another, it reveals something about us as a community. That is why The Children’s Agenda analyzes government budgets from the Rochester City School District on up to […]Read More »

The state-wide mask mandate is still in effect amid an ongoing legal battle, but even if it were lifted, a local medical expert says schools should still require masks indoors.

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

The state-wide mask mandate is still in effect amid an ongoing legal battle, but even if it were lifted, a local medical expert says schools should still require masks indoors.

The state-wide mask mandate is still in effect amid an ongoing legal battle, but even if it were lifted, a local medical expert says schools should still require masks indoors.

New York state could soon be engaging in a new push to help reduce child poverty. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act has passed both houses in the State Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature.

As Rochester schools see incidents of violence, children's advocates are calling for the school system to push forward, and not turn back by bringing police back into schools. Children's Agenda Educational Policy Director Eamonn Scanlon said disturbances involving students frequently pick up this time of year and, after the disruption of COVID-19, Rochester schools should be doing more to ease kids back into class.

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

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul last week signed legislation to increase funding for Early Intervention services for young children with developmental delays and also pledged a major funding increase for specialized schools serving children with disabilities.

New York state could soon be engaging in a new push to help reduce child poverty. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act has passed both houses in the State Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature.

Earlier this week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that $21 million in federal funding will be available to bolster the state's mental health workforce. This led The Children's Agenda and "Partners in Community BIPOC PEEEEEK" to start a discussion on how these funds can be best serve children in Rochester.

New York state could soon be engaging in a new push to help reduce child poverty. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act has passed both houses in the State Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature.

The state-wide mask mandate is still in effect amid an ongoing legal battle, but even if it were lifted, a local medical expert says schools should still require masks indoors.

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

Justin Murphy joins the Raising Rochester podcast to discuss his new book, “Your Children are Very Greatly in Danger.” That book is a history of school segregation in Rochester, NY. It chronicles attempts to integrate schools in Rochester, as well as efforts to resist desegregation. Justin is the Education Reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, and has covered Rochester’s schools for the past 8 years. He and Pete Nabozny discuss his book, the broader context of school segregation in our community, and his recommendations for ways to begin to address school segregation in Rochester and Monroe County.

Larry Marx is this week’s guest on the Raising Rochester podcast. Larry is the CEO of The Children’s Agenda. Larry is an experienced and highly successful advocate for children and has overseen The Children’s Agenda’s growth over the past decade. He led our recent effort to commission a statistically representative public opinion poll of Monroe County parents, He joins the show this week to discuss the poll’s findings and its implications for public policy in our community and throughout New York State.

Parents looking to access child care assistance information in New York can face an uphill battle if they’re hoping to find answers on the internet.

  March 2022 Listening to Parents This month The Children’s Agenda released findings from our first-of-its kind poll of Monroe County parents. The poll is a game changer when it comes to advocating for legislative change in the county and in Albany. Too often when our local and state government want to hear from parents, […]Read More »

New York state could soon be engaging in a new push to help reduce child poverty. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act has passed both houses in the State Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature.

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

New York state could soon be engaging in a new push to help reduce child poverty. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act has passed both houses in the State Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature.

New York state could soon be engaging in a new push to help reduce child poverty. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act has passed both houses in the State Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature.

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

Earlier this week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that $21 million in federal funding will be available to bolster the state's mental health workforce. This led The Children's Agenda and "Partners in Community BIPOC PEEEEEK" to start a discussion on how these funds can be best serve children in Rochester.

The state-wide mask mandate is still in effect amid an ongoing legal battle, but even if it were lifted, a local medical expert says schools should still require masks indoors.

As Rochester schools see incidents of violence, children's advocates are calling for the school system to push forward, and not turn back by bringing police back into schools. Children's Agenda Educational Policy Director Eamonn Scanlon said disturbances involving students frequently pick up this time of year and, after the disruption of COVID-19, Rochester schools should be doing more to ease kids back into class.

Preview – Valuing ALL of Our Children … And Much More in the February Edition of TCA’s E-News February 2022 Valuing ALL of Our Children At The Children’s Agenda we believe there is no such thing as someone else’s child. As a community, we have a fundamental obligation to ensure the well-being of all children. […]Read More »

Isaiah Santiago is this week’s guest on the Raising Rochester podcast. Isaiah is an extremely busy senior at School of the Arts and a passionate youth advocate in the community. He and Pete Nabozny discuss his background, some of his current pursuits, and his perspective about some of the key issues in our community today.She and host Pete Nabozny also discuss recent Early Intervention legislation and Governor Hochul’s Early Intervention budget proposal.

Tina Carney is this week’s Raising Rochester guest. Tina is a committed parent advocate in Rochester and Monroe County. Tina shares her personal experience as a parent trying to get her children the services they need, describes how she got involved as a parent leader in this community, and details how she believes child serving systems need to better engage and empower parents. She and host Pete Nabozny also discuss recent Early Intervention legislation and Governor Hochul’s Early Intervention budget proposal.

A recent report by The Children’s Agenda searched for several pieces of criteria, such as applications for subsidies and income eligibility criteria, and found out that most counties did not have that information.

Stevie Vargas joins Raising Rochester for our first episode of 2022. Stevie is Upstate Campaign Coordinator for the Alliance for Quality Education, and works to organize communities across New York State to ensure that all students receive a high quality education regardless of ZIP code. AQE has also emerged as a leader to implement universal child care in New York State. The conversation focuses on the state of child care in New York, Stevie’s personal challenges accessing and maintaining child care, and the 2022-23 state budget.

As Rochester schools see incidents of violence, children's advocates are calling for the school system to push forward, and not turn back by bringing police back into schools. Children's Agenda Educational Policy Director Eamonn Scanlon said disturbances involving students frequently pick up this time of year and, after the disruption of COVID-19, Rochester schools should be doing more to ease kids back into class.

A recent report by The Children’s Agenda searched for several pieces of criteria, such as applications for subsidies and income eligibility criteria, and found out that most counties did not have that information.

New York children had many policy wins last year. So what’s next? A lot! In 2022, The Children’s Agenda, along with coalition partners and advocates like you, will work to – - Put New York on the path toward universal, quality, affordable child care - Increase access and equity in the Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education systems - Eliminate school suspensions in grades K – 3 in favor of developmentally appropriate therapeutic and restorative practices - Launch a statewide effort to reduce child poverty by half

January 2022 Bold Action for Children New York children had many policy wins last year. So what’s next? A lot! In 2022, The Children’s Agenda, along with coalition partners and advocates like you, will work to – Put New York on the path toward universal, quality, affordable child care Increase access and equity in the […]Read More »

The state-wide mask mandate is still in effect amid an ongoing legal battle, but even if it were lifted, a local medical expert says schools should still require masks indoors.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a dire shortage of child care providers and child care funding for families. It led to an unprecendented amount of federal money being poured into child care last year: New York received over 2.2 billion dollars, an amount that's three times the annual budget. But a lot of that money hasn’t been spent, because many families don’t know it’s out there.

During Tuesday’s state budget address, Governor Kathy Hochul outlined funding for child care. Some local representatives say it’s not enough. Meanwhile, the Children’s Agenda recently released a report about how information related to child care assistance is provided locally, and it identifies barriers and gaps.

Parents looking to access child care assistance information in New York can face an uphill battle if they’re hoping to find answers on the internet.

Parents and children’s advocates have some differing views about the Rochester City School District’s decision to return some classrooms to in-person learning while others stay remote.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul last week signed legislation to increase funding for Early Intervention services for young children with developmental delays and also pledged a major funding increase for specialized schools serving children with disabilities.

Some students with disabilities may see a boost in support this coming year as Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a package of bills into law on Thursday that would do just that. The new legislation includes designating a newly established Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board. The board would in part help health care providers and educators better diagnose autism.

Preview – Our Wish List … And Much More in the December Edition of TCA’s E-News December 2021 2022 Wish List from The Children’s Agenda There is a palpable excitement in kids at this time of year. A break from school, family holiday celebrations, spending all day in pajamas, hopes to play in the snow. […]Read More »

On December 1, Governor Hochul signed the Child Poverty Reduction Act into law. The bill commits New York to reducing child poverty by 50 percent over the next ten years.

Brigit Hurley joins Raising Rochester this week to discuss the proposed 2022 Monroe County budget. Brigit is The Children’s Agenda’s Senior Director of Advocacy and Programs, and has been responsible for our Monroe County budget reviews since joining The Children’s Agenda in 2012. The conversation focuses on what is important in the county budget and what The Children’s Agenda is recommending before the budget is finalized.

Katie Albitz joins Raising Rochester this week as our podcast’s first out-of-town guest to analyze the child care components of the proposed federal Build Back Better reconciliation package. Katie is the Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for the New York Association for the Education of Young Children (NYAEYC). The conversation touches on the important work that NYAEYC does throughout New York State, the transformational nature of the proposed federal legislation, what New York should do to best implement of this child care system overhaul, and what listeners should do to ensure it passes the United State Senate.

Preview – Building Back for Kids … And Much More in the November Edition of TCA’s E-News November 2021 Building Back for Children On November 18th, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better bill. It includes historic, transformative investments in children that will foster an inclusive and equitable recovery for our nation. With […]Read More »

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.

School officials in Rochester, New York voted on Tuesday to station police officers outside the city’s 11 high schools when students arrive and leave their campuses each day.

Now, with previously cooped-up kids back in classrooms, the number of campus fights and disruptions has grown, putting pressure on local school board officials to reestablish police presence. In recent weeks, police and private security officers have been posted outside high schools at the beginning and end of the school day — protection that could be extended pending a decision by school commissioners Tuesday.

Kristen Rogers joins the show this week to reflect on her experiences as a family child care provider. She shares her motivation for opening her program, how she tried to structure a high quality experience for the children in her care, the unique value of family child care compared to center based care, and why, after 15 years of operating her program, she decided to close. She also provides information about her current position with the Career Development Center at the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute.

Preview – Focusing on Children’s Mental Health … And Much More in the October Edition of TCA’s E-News October 2021 State of Emergency for America’s Children On October 19th a “National Emergency in Children’s Mental Health” was declared by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital […]Read More »

As Rochester schools see incidents of violence, children's advocates are calling for the school system to push forward, and not turn back by bringing police back into schools. Children's Agenda Educational Policy Director Eamonn Scanlon said disturbances involving students frequently pick up this time of year and, after the disruption of COVID-19, Rochester schools should be doing more to ease kids back into class.

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.

Jessica Lewis, ROC the Future’s Communications Specialist and Urban-Suburban program graduate, joins the show this week. She and host Pete Nabozny discuss her experiences in the Urban-Suburban Interdistrict Transfer program as a child, the origins and history of Urban-Suburban, her thoughts on various critiques to the program, and her hopes for the program’s future.

Earlier this week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that $21 million in federal funding will be available to bolster the state's mental health workforce. This led The Children's Agenda and "Partners in Community BIPOC PEEEEEK" to start a discussion on how these funds can be best serve children in Rochester.

The child-care industry is down more than 126,000 workers. That's according to the Washington Post. Staff members are leaving the industry for higher-paying jobs and better benefits. This has economic impacts -- with fewer workers, fewer children can be cared for, and more parents must leave the workforce to stay home with them. The staffing crisis is impacting the Rochester region.

Yversha Roman, Director of CASH at Empire Justice Center, joins the show this week to discuss the CASH program, the recent temporary expansion of the child tax credit, and local efforts to ensure that all potential recipients of the child tax credit are able to receive it.

Many parents rely on child care to help take care of their children, but lately services could be hard to find. 

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello called for new legislation that would increase early intervention resources in New York for children and students during an address Saturday.

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello is calling for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to make sure kids in New York with special needs can get the help they need paid for.

Parents in the Rochester City School District marched to the central office Thursday night asking the district to invest in mental health. They said children in this city are being impacted mentally, socially and emotionally by the violence around them and that it’s affecting their behavior at home and at school.

The child-care industry is down more than 126,000 workers. That's according to the Washington Post. Staff members are leaving the industry for higher-paying jobs and better benefits. This has economic impacts -- with fewer workers, fewer children can be cared for, and more parents must leave the workforce to stay home with them. The staffing crisis is impacting the Rochester region.

Preview – Early Intervention Month Continues … And Much More in the September Edition of TCA’s E-News September 2021 Early Intervention (EI) Month Continues A special thank you to all who joined us for the kickoff event for Early Intervention (EI) Awareness Month; it was a blast!   Our next event will be held on […]Read More »

The challenge of just getting to school, both nationally and locally, has dominated headlines as children returned to the classroom this month.  But busing is not the only challenge students face in returning to a normal school day experience.

This week’s episode is all about sleep. Raising Rochester’s Host Pete Nabozny interviews Dr. Jack Peltz, a clinical psychologist and researcher who specializes in sleep issues.

Monroe County has dedicated September as Early Intervention (EI) Awareness Month.

This week’s episode is all about sleep. Raising Rochester’s Host Pete Nabozny interviews Dr. Jack Peltz, a clinical psychologist and researcher who specializes in sleep issues.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, child care in New York could cost families up to $15,000 per year, per child. And then the pandemic hit, decimating the child care sector even further.

One of the industries that was deeply hurt by the pandemic was the child care sector in New York. Over 1,200 child care operators closed permanently during the COVID-19 crisis. “It’s been a challenge for child care providers,” Peter Nabozny of The Children’s Agenda in Rochester told Capital Tonight. “Because of fixed costs and staffing, they have experienced severe losses. Especially home-based providers, the smaller providers, which are disproportionately located in urban areas and run by Black and brown women.” The good news? Thanks to several pots of federal money, there is $2.4 billion earmarked for child care stabilization, child…

Preview – September is Early Intervention Month … And Much More in the August Edition of TCA’s E-News August 2021 Coming in September – Early Intervention (EI) Month Monroe County has dedicated September as Early Intervention (EI) Awareness Month. The County will be collaborating with community organizations, providers, and parents to plan a series of […]Read More »

New York was selected as one of five states by a national funder consortium with the Alliance for Early Success to receive a $1.2 million grant over the next 3 years called “Child Care NEXT” to support the state's efforts to transform child care.

Monroe County has dedicated September as Early Intervention (EI) Awareness Month. The County will be collaborating with community organizations, providers, and parents to plan a series of events, starting with the kickoff on September 4.

The first episode of Raising Rochester is a conversation with Kim Dooher. Kim is a parent of four, including Vivian, a remarkable 5 year old girl who has benefitted immensely from Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education services.

Long before COVID-19, the child care sector in New York was in a state of crisis. But now there are circumstances swirling around the issue, both positive and negative, that could change the way the system functions in the state.

Preview – Tapping National Networks to Amplify Local Parent Power … And Much More in the July Edition of TCA’s E-News July 2021 Tapping National Networks to Amplify Local Parent Power Among other partners, The Children’s Agenda drives policy and system change with parent leaders (and with RCSD, for example). A recent national re-grant of […]Read More »

The Children’s Agenda has long supported the establishment of a Child Well-Being Dashboard, and we believe this COVID-19 recovery moment is an ideal time to create such a tool. This dashboard would also support the county’s efforts to streamline and reinvent its delivery of Human Services.

Early intervention services are required for young children with developmental disabilities and delays, but the federal government doesn’t mandate who pays the bill, so in New York it usually falls on taxpayers. Brigit Hurley, senior director of advocacy and program for The Children’s Agenda, breaks down legislation awaiting the governor’s signature that would shift more of the burden to insurance companies.

The Biden administration has launched the biggest anti-poverty program in more than half a century in this country. The money started rolling out last Thursday: checks to households in every state, aimed at helping more than 60 million children. Who gets the money, and how far will it go?

Almost every family with children in the country is expected to be eligible for direct payments from the U.S. government for the next several months.

Roughly 133,000 children in Monroe County will benefit from the new Child Tax Credit payments that began rolling out Thursday. The payments are an expansion of the existing child tax credit which is normally paid out at tax time every year. But now, qualifying families can expect to receive this credit every month, usually on the 15th.

The major problem, advocates say, is that the state sets reimbursement rates for Early Intervention services in each county and hasn't raised them since at least 2011. Some rates were cut around 2010 and are now lower than they were during the 1990s.  "This pattern of inadequate compensation has led to a critical shortage of EI providers, which has resulted in delays in service delivery across the state," Brigit Hurley of The Children's Agenda, a statewide advocacy group, told the state Legislature during a February testimony.

The New York State Legislature passed the Child Poverty Reduction Act. The goal of the legislation is to cut childhood poverty in half within ten years. Now, the bill awaits Gov. Andrew Cuomo's signature.

The lapsing of the state’s disaster declaration will likely have immediate ramifications for the child care industry, with The Children’s Agenda Director of Policy Pete Nabozny highlighting a benefits cliff that parents and providers are rapidly heading toward.

Preview – June 2021 E-News June 2021 Progress for Kids at State Level Thanks to you, 6,000 members of our online Advocacy Network, and coalitions of dozens of organizations statewide, the New York State Assembly and Senate passed five important bills supporting our community’s children.  The Children’s Agenda advocated for them all in visits to […]Read More »

As Emma Lazarus, the poet who’s other writing (“The New Colossus”) adorns our Statue of Liberty wrote, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.”

The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act passed overwhelmingly during the state legislative session that wrapped up this week. Now, local leaders are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign it.

A bill setting the goal of halving child poverty in New York within a decade has passed the Legislature and now goes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his signature.

New York state could soon be engaging in a new push to help reduce child poverty. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Act has passed both houses in the State Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature.

The crisis of child poverty has gotten even worse during the pandemic. Now the State Legislature is pushing a new plan to cut child poverty in half over the next decade.

Together, we made progress for kids in the state legislature! Four bills we prioritized and advocated for via visits with legislators and their staff, sharing data, testifying at hearings, and spending hours on Zoom calls strategizing with our advocacy partners were approved by the NYS Senate and Assembly! There’s one more step before they become law – the Governor must sign them.

New York’s Legislature has voted overwhelmingly to set a goal of cutting child poverty in half in 10 years.

As Emma Lazarus, the poet who’s other writing (“The New Colossus”) adorns our Statue of Liberty wrote, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.”

The two leading plans in Washington to support children and families come from President Biden and... Mitt Romney? It's true - the Republican Senator has released his own plan to boost financial support for children, leading some in his own party to call it "welfare expansion."