The Children's Agenda
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Our Reports

The Children’s Agenda analyzes budgets and public policy to ensure public expenditures map to what’s effective and what does the most good.

With no affiliation with or funding from government or children’s services providers, we look at the impact of proposed funding plans on kids and families in the Rochester City School District, Monroe County, New York State, or The City of Rochester. We look out for taxpayers, making sure that expenditures are for evidence-based preventive programs that work.

Fact Sheets: The State of Early Intervention by County in New York

July 8, 2026

A recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found, as have others, that when children with developmental delays and disabilities receive EI therapies, they are significantly more likely to meet proficiency standards in third grade language arts and math, resulting in compounded savings in the PK-12 system.

Despite the importance of this program and the IDEA’s legal mandate, New York State has repeatedly failed to make the necessary investments to ensure Early Intervention providers are there when children need them.

This is the first time we have had this amount of data about Early Intervention at the

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TCA’s Statement on the NYS 2026-27 Enacted Budget

June 1, 2026

The Children’s Agenda is grateful for the groundbreaking investments in New York’s child care system in the SFY27 enacted budget. Proposed by the Governor and with full support from the legislature, the $3 billion dedicated to the program is a significant milestone on the path to achieving universal child care. We are disappointed that there were no new investments in the child care workforce and are concerned that the fragile condition of the workforce will be a barrier to the success of this initiative.
Similarly, we applaud the $1.6 billion investment in New York’s Universal Pre-K program, enabling the

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TCA’s Response to the RCSD 2026-27 Budget Vote

May 14, 2026

The Rochester City School District voted to adopt the Draft 2026-2027 Budget in a 4-3 decision on May 12th, despite vocal opposition from parents, students, and teachers. While The Children’s Agenda is glad that the RCSD Administration responded to our advocacy by restoring some of the previously cut positions for social work, guidance counseling and Home/Hospital Instruction, we are deeply disappointed with the process leading up to the vote which ended up adopting budget cuts to these urgently needed programs while other programs remained untouched or were even increased. This speaks to a central concern of ours during the budget

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TCA Review of the RCSD 2026-27 Draft Budget

April 28, 2026

The Rochester City School District (RCSD) 2026-2027 Draft Budget uses the district’s savings, significantly cuts support services for students (social workers and guidance counselors), and nearly eliminates Home/Hospital Instruction to balance the budget. However, many positions were also added throughout the book, the largest increase being for Special Education. While The Children’s Agenda has many concerns with the cuts made in the Draft Budget, we applaud the Superintendent’s investments in Special Education and English Language Learners.

The three focus areas of this report are Mental Health, School Climate and Suspensions, and School Meals, which were selected by the 70 parent

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person walking on road beside cars

NYC CCAP Funding Needs Memo

April 1, 2026

Enrollment in New York State’s Child Care Assistance Program has grown substantially over the past several years. Reforms enacted by Governor Hochul and the state legislature since 2021 expanded eligibility for assistance to more families, lowered co-pays for families enrolled in the program and increased reimbursement rates for providers. These efforts, coupled with unprecedented increases in state funding for the program, have helped over 100,000 more children benefit from the Child Care Assistance Program today than when Governor Hochul took office in 2021.

While enrollment has increased throughout New York State, the most significant growth has occurred in New York

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Fact Sheet: Universal Pre-Kindergarten Funding in New York State

March 31, 2026

Inadequate per-pupil rates and structural flaws in New York’s approach to funding Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) have significantly slowed expansion outside of New York City. Paired with her push for universal child care, Governor Hochul has committed to finally achieving a universal pre-kindergarten program for all four-year-olds statewide by the 2028-2029 school year. To further strengthen the Governor’s proposal, The Children’s Agenda recommends higher per-pupil rates for districts’ three-year-old programs (3K), and additional structures to support inclusion of students with disabilities and community-based organizations in the UPK system.

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2025 Impact Update

March 23, 2026

Every sturdy structure begins with a strong foundation, and every meaningful change in the lives of children and families starts the same way: with people who believe it is possible, and who commit themselves to making it real.

That is the spirit behind this year’s Impact Report, and its theme: Building Blocks of Progress.

Throughout 2025, we continued to focus on initiatives that create positive, long-term change for children and families across New York state. Because persistent structural and racial inequities result in worse outcomes for children of color and minoritized children especially, we work to center the voices and

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TCA’s Response to the NYS Senate and Assembly One-House Budget Proposals

March 17, 2026

We applaud both the NYS Senate and Assembly for building on Governor Hochul’s proposed budget with bold investments that will transform the lives of children and families across New York. At the same time, we believe there are missed opportunities for New York’s children and families.

Read more to find out what The Children’s Agenda supports in the One-House budget proposals.

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SNS Fact Sheet for New York in 2024-25

March 2, 2026

In New York, students are suspended from schools in response to a wide range of behaviors, including minor infractions like being late to class and dress code violations. This form of punishment begins as early as Pre-Kindergarten. The overreliance on exclusionary discipline continues despite research that indicates suspensions are ineffective and harmful and that they deepen academic inequities, especially for students of color, those from low-income backgrounds, and students with disabilities.

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Rural Realities: The State of Child Care in Rural Western New York

February 12, 2026

Like their peers living in urban and suburban areas, young children in rural communities deserve high-quality early education, and their families deserve reliable child care that allows them to work or pursue an education.

Unfortunately, while many rural child care providers offer safe and nurturing care to families in their communities despite having fewer resources and supports, the availability of child care in rural communities is also more limited than in suburban and urban communities, especially for children with developmental delays and disabilities. Structural issues with the way New York State funds child care assistance also reduce the ability of

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Fact Sheet: Child Care Challenges at the County Level

January 23, 2026

Child care is a critical support for families with young children, employers, and New York State’s economy. The State made substantial investments in the child care system in the past few years, but this progress is threatened by significant issues related to cost and capacity. To address these challenges and ensure families have access to the care they need, policymakers must make critical investments in the 26-27 NYS Budget to bolster the child care workforce and stabilize the Child Care Assistance Program.

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TCA’s Response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2026 State of the State Address

January 15, 2026

In her 2026 State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed bold investments that will profoundly and positively impact children, families, and our economy across the state for generations to come. In a time of real setbacks from the current federal administration, we applaud Governor Hochul’s leadership and determination to fight for families.

Read more to find out what we’re applauding this year, what we believe is missing, and what New York voters say they want from State leaders in this year’s budget.

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Reports by Area

Reports by Agenda Item