About Us

Foundational to our work are our three pillars: Public Policy, Research and Data, and Civic Engagement.

CCC is the leading child advocacy organization in New York City because:

• We are independent. We are non-profit, nonpartisan and independent from government funding and therefore unbiased in the partnerships we form and the solutions we explore.

Public Policy Advocacy

• We are expert. We work across many policy issue areas to identify the most pressing problems children face and advance policy, budget, and legislative solutions.
• We examine the issues deeply. We conduct analysis of the State and City budgets,  legislation and programs that serve children and families.

Research and Data Analysis

• We are data driven. We have created and maintain Keeping Track of New York City’s Children, the most extensive database available on the status of the city’s 2 million children and their families. Data analysis informs our priorities and is used extensively by parents, professionals, government officials, philanthropists, and others to understand and improve the lives of New York City’s children.
• We are community driven. We work with communities throughout NYC to create assessments that provide a comprehensive picture of the needs of children and families and available resources that promote their well-being.

Civic Engagement

• We spread the word and engage New Yorkers. We build public discussion through public forums, digital communications and media engagement. We provide innovative child advocacy courses and advocacy tools that reach tens-of-thousands of New Yorkers annually.
• We collaborate. We work closely with citizen volunteers and with partners inside and outside of the government, in all aspects of our work.

For the last 75 years CCC has been winning critical victories to make New York a better place for children.
CCC was conceived in 1944 and incorporated in 1945 while the country was during a childcare crisis. During World War II, fathers were serving overseas, and mothers were working outside the home in unprecedented numbers. Children’s childcare programs were unavailable in most neighborhoods. Many that did exist were poorly funded, had exclusionary admission policies, or were substandard.
A group of New Yorkers met to discuss these issues and their larger concerns for the well-being of the city’s children. Their advocacy helped secure state funding for the Mayor’s Committee on the Wartime Care for Children. After this victory, they formed CCC — an independent child advocacy organization with a small expert staff working together with committed and informed volunteers.
Among our founders, early members and staff of CCC were First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, philanthropists Adele Rosenwald Levy and Mary Lasker, Dr. Kenneth Clark, Dr. Benjamin Spock, New York City Council Member Stanley M. Isaacs, Judge Justine Wise Polier, Trude Lash, and Alfred Kahn.