On June 30^th, 2025, the City Council and Adams Administration adopted the $115.9 billion Fiscal Year 2026 Budget. The investments included in this budget are particularly urgent as our state faces federal budget cuts impacting healthcare, food insecurity, and economic well-being of New York families. As we look ahead to the impact of these threats, it will be more essential than ever that City Leaders defend and preserve the critical investments made in this year’s city budget.

Driven by the voices of advocates, parents, and city leaders, the adopted budget includes crucial restorations and investments in Early Care and Education. These investments include:

• $112 million restored and baselined for 3-K and Pre-K seats
• $55 million baselined for preschool special education seats and $70 million in FY26 for preschool special education evaluations and services
• $25 million baselined for extended-day seats, which offer year-round care and care for longer hours for EarlyLearn, 3-K, and Pre-K
• $25 million in FY26 for Promise NYC, a program which serves low-income children without eligibility requirements.
• $5 million in one-year funding for ECE outreach
• $10 million in new funding for FY26 for an Infant and Toddler Child Care program to expand childcare access to families with children 0 – 2 years old in high-need neighborhoods.

Moreover, the FY26 budget builds on important education restorations from the previous year by maintaining funding for education initiatives, including the following:

• $80 million in FY26 for summer programming
• $14 million baselined for Community Schools
• $12 million for Restorative Justice ($6 million baselined)
• $5 million in FY26 for the Mental Health Continuum
• $31 million for Learning to Work
• $10 million baselined for teacher recruitment
• $4 million in FY26 for Immigrant Family Communications and Outreach

The budget also makes a $331 million commitment to create a total of 20,000 new afterschool slots by Fiscal Year 2028 (including 5,000 in FY26). While this is a critical step in the right direction towards a truly universal afterschool system, the budget does not enhance rates for COMPASS and SONYC in the next fiscal year. By doing so, the budget fails to address the staffing crisis facing afterschool programs that have not seen an increase to their base funding in over a decade, compromising access to high-quality afterschool programs.

In other areas, there were missed opportunities to meet the needs of children, families, and communities. While we were glad to see a new investment of $15 million for the Feeding Our Communities initiative, the budget failed to recognize the urgent need to increase funding for Community Food Connections to $100 million. Community Food Connections provides funding and support to over 700 food pantries. Although the adopted budget restored $36.1 million in cuts, that funding is insufficient to meet the growing demands for food assistance in New York City.

Additionally, the budget takes steps towards supporting Runaway and Homeless Youth by investing $3.2 million for RHY Youth Peer and Housing Navigators. However, the budget does not include an increase in bed rates to $70,000/bed, an investment urgently needed to better support the youth and manage operation costs.

The addition of $5 million to support the NYC 988 Crisis Intervention hotline a critical investment in light of federal budget cuts to 988 services for LGBTQIA+ youth. However, the FY26 budget also missed several opportunities to enhance children’s mental health by underfunding other important City Council mental health initiatives that support youth and families, and by failing to make innovative investments in wraparound supports for school-based mental health clinics.

Below we provide an overview of investments made in the FY26 Adopted Budget. You can review CCC’s previous analysis of the FY26 Preliminary Budget and FY26 Executive Budget for an overview of funding proposals made at those stages of budget negotiation.

Summary of Actions Taken in the New York City FY2026 Adopted Budget*

*This document summarizes new budget actions taken in addition to budget items included in the Preliminary and Executive Budgets. For investments made in earlier versions of the budget, see our Preliminary and Executive Budget analyses.

The Adopted Budget for FY 2026 Adds or Restores Following Initiatives:

Department of Education

• $20 million in FY26 for Class Size reduction
• $2.9 million baselined for Inclusion Specialists
• $128 million in FY26 for Schools Hold Harmless to ensure that schools will not receive less funding than the past school year despite any drops in enrollment that may occur.
• $70 million in FY26 for Pre-K Special Education services
• $25 million in FY26 to implement the “Bell to Bell” Ban on Cellular Devices
• $150,000 in FY26 for NYC Her Future, which focuses on disparities that young women of color face across NYC in education, employment, justice, and health
• $10 million in FY26 for Infant and Toddler Child Care Pilot to expand childcare access to families with children 0 – 2 years old in high-need neighborhoods.
• $250,000 in FY26 for Operation Backpack, which provides back-to-school supplies for students in temporary housing

Libraries

• $1 million in FY26 in additional funding for the Research Library
• $140,000 in FY26 for 7 days of service at the Research Library
• $5.58 million in FY26 in additional funding for the New York Public Library
• $744,000 in FY25 for 7 days of service at the New York Public Library
• $4.18 million in FY26 in additional funding for the Brooklyn Public Library
• $558,000 in FY26 for 7 days of service at the Brooklyn Public Library
• $4.18 million in FY26 in additional funding for the Queens Public Library
• $558,000 in FY26 for 7 days of service at the Queens Public Library

Administration for Children’s Services

• $228.5 million in FY26 and $265.6 million in outyears for Child Care Vouchers
• $150,000 in FY26 for Youth Mentoring: Future Force Internship

Department of Social Services

• $2 million in FY26 for Rapid Response Legal Collaborative Funding
• $100 million in FY26 for Rental Assistance
• $2 million in FY26 for Domestic Violence Legal Services Pilot
• $15 million in FY26 for Immigrant Legal Services Enhancement
• $3 million in FY26 and $10 million in outyears for Civil Legal Services
• $5 million in FY26 for Fair Fairs
• $22.5 million in FY26 for Immigration Legal Services
• $12.5 million in FY26 for Unaccompanied Minors

Department of Homeless Services

• $9.7 million baselined for Shelter Intake Services

Office of Criminal Justice

• $2 million in FY26 for the South Bronx Community Justice Center
• $1.3 million in FY26 for the Alternatives to Incarceration Adjustment

Department of Youth and Community Development

• $125,000 baselined for Civic Engagement Staff
• $3.3 million in FY26 for Student Success Centers
• $325,000 in FY26 for LGBT Inclusive Curriculum
• $990,000 in FY26 for Equity and Racial Justice
• $1.6 million in FY26 for Runaway and Homeless Youth Peer Navigators
• $1.6 million in FY26 for Runaway and Homeless Youth Housing Navigators
• $15 million in FY26 for Feeding Our Communities

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

• $1 million in FY26 for Emergency Medical Services Mental Health and Wellness
• $100,000 in FY26 for Maternal Health Campaign
• $2.5 million in FY26 for Crisis Respite Centers
• $11 million in FY26 for Intensive Mobile Treatment Expansion
• $4.8 million baselined for Justice-Involved Supportive Housing
• $583,000 in FY26 for Maternal Infant Reproduction Expansion
• $1.5 million for Nurse-Family Partnership
• $5 million in FY26 for NYC 988 Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Hotline
• $4.5 million in FY26 for Assertive Community Treatment Expansion

Department of Parks and Recreation

• $9.8 million in FY26 for Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) Security Officers
• $6.2 million in FY26 for Park Maintenance Workers

The Adopted Budget for FY26 Fails to Fund Key Initiatives that Were Funded in the FY25 Adopted Budget

Investments that the City Administration funded in the FY25 Adopted Budget for one year only and are not funded in the FY26 Adopted Budget.

Department of Social Services

• $225 million for Rental Assistance ($100 million of $325 million was restored in the FY26 Adopted Budget)
• $3 million for Language Services

Department of Homeless Services

• $1.35 million for Children and Families in NYC Homeless System

Department of Youth and Community Development

• $1.5 million for Youth Homelessness
• $315,000 for LGBTQIA+ Curriculum
• $4.9 million for AAPI Community Programs

The Adopted Budget for FY 2026 Funds City Council Initiatives at the Following Levels

These are investments funded by the City Council for FY26 only. Initiatives are level-funded with the previous year unless indicated otherwise.

Community Development

• $5.1 million for Asian-American Pacific Islander Community Support
• $6.2 million for Adult Literacy Initiative ($7.8 million decrease from FY25)
• $8.2 million for the Adult Literacy Pilot Project ($5.7 million increase from FY25)
• $3.7 million for Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund
• $4.59 million for Digital Inclusion and Literacy Initiative
• $5.2 million for LGBTQIA+ Community Services
• $6.4 million million for Trans Equity Programs ($3.2 million increase from FY25)
• $1.4 million for Community Interpreter Bank ($400,000 increase from FY25)
• $700,000 for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity in Tech Initiative
• $2.4 million for Language Services Worker Co-operatives ($400,000 reduction from FY25)

Community Safety and Victim Services

• $5.1 million for Community Safety and Victim Services Initiative

Criminal Justice Services/Juvenile Justice

• $19.96 million for Alternatives to Incarceration and Reentry programs (Formerly Alternatives to Incarceration, Discharge Planning, and Diversion Programs) ($4.4 million decrease from FY25)

• $4.16 million for the Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault ($450,000 decrease from FY25)
• $2.638 million for Innovative Criminal Justice Programs
• $2.1 million for Justice Involved Supportive Housing (formerly Discharge Planning)
• $1.02 million for Support for Victims of Human Trafficking
• $3.476 million for Support for Persons Involved in the Sex Trade

Domestic Violence

• $12.01 million for Domestic Violence and Empowerment (DoVE) Initiative
• $2.45 million for Supportive Alternatives to Violent Encounters (SAVE)
• $1.5 million for Home Plus (new initiative)

Early Childhood Education

• $5.45 million for the City’s First Readers Initiative
• $600,000 for CUNY Child Care Expansion

Education

• $8.88 million for Educational Programs for Students (formerly College and Career Readiness and Education Programs for Students)
• $3.75 million for Community Schools
• $7.5 million for the Education Equity Action Plan to support the creation of a K-12 Black Studies curriculum ($2.5 million increase from FY25)
• $500,000 for the Jill Chaifetz Helpline operated by Advocates for Children
• $2.8 million for LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Curriculum.
• $925,000 million for Physical Education and Fitness
• $2 million for Social and Emotional Supports for Students
• $4.650 million for Support for Educators, which funds professional development, training, and mentorship for teachers
• $4 million for Support for Arts Instruction
• $7.4 million for Cultural Immigrant Initiative (distributed among DCLA, DYCD, CUNY, DOE)
• $4.6 million for Digital Inclusion and Literacy Initiative (distributed among DYCD, DCLA, DFTA, DOE, and QBPL)
• $2 million for Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialists

Environmental Initiatives

• $5.1 million for A Greener NYC
• $14.3 million for NYC Cleanup
• $6.2 for Community Composting

Economic Security

• $2.8 million for the Anti-Poverty Initiative

Food Initiatives

• $8.5 million for food pantries ($207,000 increase over FY25)
• $2.1 million for Access to Healthy Food and Nutritional Education
• $1.4 million for the Food Access and Benefits Initiative
• $15 million for Feeding Our Communities (new initiative)

Health Services

• $850,000 for Abortion Access Fund
• $3.620 million for Access Health NYC
• $4.4 million for Healthy Beginnings (formerly Child Health and Wellness and Maternal and Child Health Services)
• $2 million for the Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (increase of $1 million from FY25)
• $654,423 for Reproductive and Sexual Health Services (increase of $100,000)
• $743,908 for Cancer Services
• $11.3 million for HIV/AIDS Pathways to Care (formerly Ending the Epidemic and HIV/AIDS Faith Community-Based initiative)
• $2.3 million for Viral Hepatitis Prevention

Homeless and Housing Services

• $1.35 million for Children and Families in the NYC Homeless System
• $820,000 for the Citywide Homeless Prevention Fund
• $ 3 million Guaranteed Income Program (increase of $1.4 million from FY25)

Housing

• $3.65 million for Community Housing Preservation Strategies
• $1.5 million for the Community Land Trust
• $2 million for Estate Planning and Resolution (increase of $1 million from FY25)
• $450,000 for Financial Empowerment for NYC’s Renters
• $4.15 million for the Foreclosure Prevention Program
• $1.8 million for the Home Loan Program
• $650,000 for Housing Court Answers
• $300,000 for the Housing Information Project
• $3.7million for Stabilizing NYC, a citywide coalition to prevent the loss of affordable housing

Immigrant Services

• $3.35 million for CUNY Citizenship NOW! Program
• $2.4 million for Immigrant Health Initiative
• $2.6 million for Immigrant Opportunities Initiative
• $33.2 million for Legal Services for Low-Income Immigrants (Formerly Legal Services for Low-Income Immigrants and Protect NYC)
• $24.9 million for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project ($8.3 million increase from FY25)
• $1.2 million for Rapid Response Legal Collaborative (formerly Legal Services for Low-Income Immigrants)
• $24.9 million for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project ($8.3 million increase from FY25)
• $16.4 million for the Unaccompanied Minors and Families Initiative ($12.5 million increase from FY25)
• $1.8 million for Welcome NYC (formerly Key to the City and Welcome NYC)

Legal Services

• $3.485 million for Family Advocacy and Guardianship Support ($485,000 increase from FY25)
• $9.255 million for Legal Services for Low-income and Working-Class New Yorkers (formerly Legal Services for Low-Income New Yorkers and Legal Services for the Working Poor)

• $1 million for Prisoners’ Rights Project
• $2.17 million for Low Wage Worker Support

Libraries

• $4.3 million n FY25 for Brooklyn Public Library
• $5.8 million in FY25 for the New York Public Library
• $4.3 million in FY25 for the Queens Public Library
• $1 million in FY25 for the New York Research Library

Mental Health Services

• $3.26 million for the Autism Awareness Initiative
• $1.56 million for the Children Under 5 Initiative, which funds community-based mental health services for children under 5
• $3.425 million for the Court-Involved Youth Mental Health Initiative
• $2.25 million for Developmental, Psychological and Behavioral Health Services
• $1.2 million for the LGBTQIA+ Youth Mental Health
• $3.66 million for Mental Health Services for Vulnerable Populations ($56,000 increase from FY25)
• $3.08 million for Opioid Prevention and Treatment
• $300,000 for mental health Workforce Retention and Development
• $5 million for NYC988 Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Hotline (new initiative)
• $4.5 million for Peer Specialists Support (new initiative)
• $250,000 for Youth Peer Support Pilot
• $4.8 million for Trauma Recovery Centers

Parks and Recreation

• $5.4 million for Parks Equity Initiative

Public Safety

• $1.225 million for the Hate Crimes Prevention Initiative
• $4.49 million for Violence Prevention and Intervention for Youth and Young Adults (formerly Arts as a Catalyst for Change and Crisis Management System)

Young Women’s Initiative

• $973,126 for a Dedicated Contraceptive Fund
• $250,000 for HRA Teen RAPP
• $3 million for Culturally Specific Gender Based Violence Initiative (formerly Initiative for Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence) ($2.47 million increase over FY25)
• $350,000 for the Prevent Sexual Assault (PSA) Initiative for Young Adults
• $174,000 for Step in and Stop it Initiative to Address Bystander Intervention
• $714,500 for Work-Based Learning Internships
• $1.096 million for Wrap-Around Supports for Transitional-Aged Foster Youth
• $1.74 million for Young Women’s Leadership Development

Youth Services

• $8.2 million for the Afterschool Enrichment Initiative
• $1 million for the Artificial Intelligence Community Engagement (new initiative)
• $1.2 million for Big Brothers and Big Sister of New York City
• $500,000 for Civic Education in New York City Schools
• $1.87 million for COMPASS elementary after-school programs
• $1.472 million for Sports Training and Role Models for Success Initiative (STARS)
• $1.4 million for Youth Build Project Initiative
• $1 million for Citywide Young Adult Entrepreneurship Program Initiative
• $1 million for Empowering Black Communities (new initiative)
• $5 million for LGBTQIA+ Youth Support and Services (new initiative)