When an evaluation showed that her son Matthew had developmental delays, Kailey Yeager and her husband tried to get him the early intervention services he…

Local lawmakers teamed up with the The Children's Agenda Tuesday morning to announce new funds for a study to help families access important early intervention…

In honor of Early Intervention (EI) Awareness Month, we asked longtime EI provider Rochester Hearing and Speech Center to share why they continue serving young…

September 2026 E-Newsletter Looking at Chronic Absenteeism in Monroe County The Children’s Agenda has just released a new report: Beyond Attendance Awareness: Chronic Absenteeism in…

A statewide program that provides therapeutic and support services for infants and toddlers with development disabilities is struggling to keep up. Advocates for those early…

August 2026 E-Newsletter Poverty is a policy failure, not a personal choice We were honored to partner with the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability…

Summer 2026 E-Newsletter   Celebrating another year of parent-led advocacy What a night to remember! We gathered at the beautiful Memorial Art Gallery for our…

June 2, 2026 E-Newsletter Significant Wins, Others Left Behind: Our Statement on the NYS 2026-27 Enacted Budget The Children’s Agenda is grateful for the groundbreaking…

We believe every child in New York who needs Early Intervention services should receive them. We encourage Governor Hochul and NYS legislators to make the…

New York’s Early Intervention Program is a powerful force for good in our state. As pediatricians, we know the crucial role of Early Intervention –…

April 2026 E-Newsletter Rochester City School District’s Budget Must Support Students’ Mental Health As longtime advocates for improving educational outcomes for Rochester students, The Children’s…

Early Intervention services are a mandated federal service that New York State is failing to provide for one of our most vulnerable groups, disabled children.…

In partnership with the Kids Can't Wait campaign, Regents Adrian Hale and Wade Norwood wrote an op-ed in the Times Union highlighting the importance of…

Spring 2026 E-Newsletter State Budget Watch State policymakers have proposed transformative investments in children and families this year, and we have high hopes that the…

February 2026 It’s Time for Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) The research is clear: Attending Pre-Kindergarten leads to short- and long-term improvements in children’s academic and behavioral…

January 2026 With the Governor’s budget book in hand and the Legislature in session, our team is focused on building support for historic progress this…

Our Response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2026 State of the State Address In her 2026 State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed bold…

Winter 2025 E-Newsletter Our 2026 State Policy Priorities Our key priority areas for 2026 are: • Child Care • Family Economic Security • Developmental Services…

The Greece Central School District is facing a growing need for support services for students with disabilities. Some of the youngest students who qualified for…

November 2025 E-Newsletter November was National Family Engagement Month, and we are so grateful for our Very Invested Parents (VIPs) and their unwavering dedication to…

Chief Program Officer Brigit Hurley provides an update on the state’s effort to deliver early intervention services in a timely fashion, including cuts to funding…

Budgets ARE moral documents. As much progress as we’ve made at the state level, with New York now leading the country in universal school meals,…

New York State is being sued for failing to fully support early intervention services for children. The lawsuit is new, but the issue is not.…

Early intervention service providers are suing the state Department of Health for “woefully inadequate” reimbursement rates that they claim violate state law. Agencies for Children’s…

When a young child is found to have a developmental delay or disability, intervention to help them at an early age can change the course…

New York’s early intervention providers haven’t seen a substantive raise in three decades — and vulnerable young children are losing out.

Budgets ARE moral documents. As much progress as we’ve made at the state level, with New York now leading the country in universal school meals,…

Children who demonstrate disruptive behaviors, such as defiance, aggression, or frequent emotional outbursts, are frequently characterized as inherently difficult or oppositional. However, a substantial body…

New York State’s Early Intervention Program is ranked last in the nation for the timely delivery of services, like physical and speech therapy, to young…

Budgets ARE moral documents. As much progress as we’ve made at the state level, with New York now leading the country in universal school meals,…

Last night, we celebrated our VIP parent leaders at our annual Parent Appreciation Dinner. Parents and their willingness to show up and speak up for…

The Children's Agenda was honored to receive the Center for Teen Empowerment's Youth-Adult Partnership Award at their annual luncheon on May 7th. Members of our…

Advocacy and organizing are both crucial to The Children's Agenda's work to improve policies for New York's children and families. Learn more about the similarities…

Eyes on State and Local Government: Since the beginning of March, advocates like you have sent 1,988 emails to State leaders to advocate for a…

Brigit Hurley, Chief Program Officer for The Children’s Agenda, discusses the state of Early Intervention in New York and what advocates are determined to see…

Gov. Kathy Hochul calls herself New York’s “first mom governor.” She has promised that “your family is my fight.” But she has a track record…

As state budget negations resume Tuesday, advocates are hoping for more funding for the state Early Intervention Program. It provides services like physical and occupational…

Your Action + Our Work = Progress for Children It has been an extraordinarily busy start to the year, with our team focused on how…

Families and advocates want the state to fund a study to assess what can help fix a clearly broken system. They also want at least…

Hope versus fear during challenging times. One of the things the field of child development teaches us is that human growth thrives on predictability, support,…

Each year, The Children’s Agenda, alongside our partners, organizes Advocacy Days for our key issue areas: Child Care, Early Intervention/Preschool Special Education, Child Poverty, and…

More than 80 parents, advocates and providers left the Rochester area Tuesday to embark on a trip to Albany to advocate for change. It's part…

January is always a busy month for us. See what we've been up to and where we are focusing our energies at the state level.

At the heart of all our work is the goal of enacting public policies that work for kids.

By almost any measure, New York State's early intervention (EI) service model is in crisis. According to the Children's Agenda, providers are being severely underpaid,…

On January 1, 2025, New York State submitted paperwork to instate a long awaited 5% rate increase for Early Intervention, the federally mandated program that…

The Kids Can't Wait Statewide Parent Network (KCWSPN) was launched in September 2024 to bring together New York parents who want to improve the Early…

Advocates for early childhood services are calling for an overhaul of how New York state funds early intervention ahead of Governor Kathy Hochul’s State of…