The Children’s Agenda presents its 20th annual review of the proposed Monroe County budget to highlight the County’s planned investments in children and recommend changes we believe will help create a thriving community for families and children.

The balance between caring for children and work is a crisis or major problem for 7 out of 10 Monroe County families and 5 out of 10 parents say their stress is high as a result of the pandemic. The stress parents are experiencing has three branches: affording and accessing resources, pandemic disruptions in schools, and mental health impacts of the pandemic.

The Children’s Agenda offers this review of the proposed 2022 County budget and its impact on children and youth at a time of uncertainty. We join with community leaders and residents in calling for an inclusive and equitable recovery that does not simply fill gaps created by the pandemic, or even the decades of child poverty and racism in Monroe County. Instead, our recovery efforts must shift resources to create a new roadmap for the future. We look forward to 2022 with hope. Crises create opportunities, and we see many opportunities for Monroe County’s children in the year ahead and beyond.

The Children’s Agenda offers this review of the proposed 2022 County budget and its impact on children and youth at a time of uncertainty. We join with community leaders and residents in calling for an inclusive and equitable recovery that does not simply fill gaps created by the pandemic, or even the decades of child poverty and racism in Monroe County. Instead, our recovery efforts must shift resources to create a new roadmap for the future. We look forward to 2022 with hope. Crises create opportunities, and we see many opportunities for Monroe County’s children in the year ahead and beyond.

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a $1.9 billion stimulus plan designed to accelerate our nation’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It contains a number of measures to provide direct relief to families, e.g. $1,400 stimulus checks to households, extended unemployment benefits and emergency housing assistance, and $5 billion for federal food aid. The pandemic recovery is addressed with $160 billion for vaccine distribution, supplies, emergency response, testing and the public health workforce.

A significant portion of ARPA funds are directed to children and families through provisions that include changes to federal tax credits and increased resources for child care, PreK-12 education, and closing the digital divide.

The Children’s Agenda offers this review of the proposed 2021 County budget and its impact on children and youth. It is a contribution to the local dialogue about how to best use limited resources to create a thriving community for families. Children are the poorest and most diverse segment of Monroe County’s population. This report was developed amid a sharp uptick in COVID-19 infections locally, ten months into a pandemic which has resulted in greater needs among Monroe County children and restricted access to services to address them. The United Hospital Fund estimates that 10,000 more Monroe County children will be pushed into poverty as a result of the pandemic. And all of our children’s health, learning, social interactions, and safety are markedly threatened.

The Children’s Agenda offers this review of the proposed 2021 County budget and its impact on children and youth. It is a contribution to the local dialogue about how to best use limited resources to create a thriving community for families. Children are the poorest and most diverse segment of Monroe County’s population. This report was developed amid a sharp uptick in COVID-19 infections locally, ten months into a pandemic which has resulted in greater needs among Monroe County children and restricted access to services to address them. The United Hospital Fund estimates that 10,000 more Monroe County children will be pushed into poverty as a result of the pandemic. And all of our children’s health, learning, social interactions, and safety are markedly threatened.

The Rochester City School District (RCSD) is facing unprecedented mid-year reductions in education aid from New York State. These cuts surpass the losses faced by any other school district in Monroe County, and are among the highest of any school district in New York State. The state’s current approach to budget reductions disproportionately targets districts with the highest needs, undermines the purpose of New York State aid to local school districts, and bolsters institutional racism in our community.