On April 26, the Mayor unveiled the $98.6 billion Fiscal Year 2022 Executive Budget proposal. With the addition of billions of dollars in federal stimulus funding, the Executive Budget makes significant investments in a number of key areas. The Executive Budget includes the expansion of 3-K to every district with the goal of universal access by 2023; $600M to achieve 100% of Fair Student Funding for every school; $500M in academic recovery for every student supporting instruction and tutoring in ELA and Math; and $200 million in summer programming for youth. In addition, the Executive Budget proposes $32M in emergency food distribution, $140 million for a wide range of behavioral health supports, and funds long-fought for indirect costs of the non-profit providers in the health and human services sectors serving New York City’s children and families. While these investments mark an unprecedent influx of federal resources, they also bring with them many questions regarding the sustainability and longevity of these initiatives after funds from one-time stimulus packages are spent.

Additionally, more details are needed on how the city will ensure:

• Investments in early childhood special education will result in enough seats to address the shortage for preschoolers with disabilities and extend salary parity to preschool special education teachers;
• The Summer Rising initiative includes sufficient resources for CBO planning, increased rates to support staff and services to effectively develop and deliver summer programming;
• Behavioral health funding will help ensure the sustainability of community-based programs that serve children and families.

We are disappointed that the Administration did not heed the City Council’s recommendation to invest $41 million to increase the value of city rent subsidies to prevent homelessness and increase housing security among families with children. Additionally, there were no new investments to address the lack of affordable infant toddler care in NYC, and additional funding will be needed to address deepened hunger and behavioral health needs resulting from the pandemic.

We look forward to working with the Administration and the City Council to ensure the CFY’22 Adopted Budget addresses these issues. We will also work with the current city administration, the City Council and the incoming 2022 Mayoral Administration to ensure that these critical investments are sustainable beyond allocated federal stimulus resources. These steps are critical to the recovery and well-being of New York’s 1.7 million children and families.