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 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. 

The Children’s Agenda is deeply concerned that school closures are disproportionately harming our most vulnerable children. We believe schools need to reopen safely as soon as possible, but are concerned the politicization of the issue, and the lack of sufficient resources and clear guidelines for schools, is putting reopening—and children’s wellbeing—in jeopardy.

We have a chance to use federal resources to rebuild the systems that failed children before and during the COVID-19 crisis, to make them stronger and more integrated than they’ve ever been. We hope New York State acts on the hard lessons learned during the pandemic by investing in affordable high-quality early learning, developmental services, income supports, and other strategies – at scale to fully meet the need, integrated into a seamless continuum, and sustainable irrespective of crisis – to help create a solid foundation on which New York’s children can grow and thrive.

Child care across the state and nation suffers from an extraordinary lack of public resources. Greater investments from local, state, and federal partners are needed to stabilize our community’s child care system, allow child care workers to earn a living wage, and ensure children receive the care and support they need to thrive. The purpose of this report is to inform leaders in Rochester, Monroe County, and New York State about the growing shortage of regulated care for young children, and to identify policies that can strengthen this crucial support for families.

Child care across the state and nation suffers from an extraordinary lack of public resources. Greater investments from local, state, and federal partners are needed to stabilize our community’s child care system, allow child care workers to earn a living wage, and ensure children receive the care and support they need to thrive. The purpose of this report is to inform leaders in Rochester, Monroe County, and New York State about the growing shortage of regulated care for young children, and to identify policies that can strengthen this crucial support for families.

The FY2019 Executive Budget proposes several promising reforms and initiatives that will benefit New York children, such as funding for the First 1000 Days on Medicaid initiative and implementation of Raise the Age juvenile justice policy

Make history in 2019. Put the State’s money in the early years, where it matters most.

New York can’t afford to leave generations of children behind!

State leaders must keep the promise of pre-k for all and increase investment in child care.

The purpose of the analysis is to determine whether current reimbursement rates are sufficient to attract a large enough workforce to meet the needs of children exhibiting developmental concerns.