Up to 4 children compete for 1 publicly funded early care and education seat in communities with the most publicly funded programs; gap of $134,000 exists between lowest and highest income groups in NYC

New York – Today, the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York (CCC) released a comprehensive new report detailing the disproportionate impact that New York City’s  post-pandemic recovery has had on working families and children. Titled, “Keeping Track of New York City’s Children: 2024,” the biennial report highlights disparities faced by communities across New York City. Key findings from the report underscore the urgent need for City officials to prioritize the needs of children and families in New York City’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget to ensure an equitable pandemic recovery. 

Keeping Track is the most comprehensive resource on the well-being of New York City’s nearly 1.7 million children and their families. The report underscores the urgent need for New York City government leaders to take action to lift incomes; stabilize housing; improve access to child care, youth services, and education; address the behavioral health crisis; and invest in strength-based approaches to support families, youth, and communities.

“Keeping Track 2024 illustrates the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of children and families and the ways in which social and economic disparities have deepened and persist despite citywide recovery,” said Jennifer March, CCC’s Executive Director. “As city leaders negotiate a budget for FY 2025, the report underscores both the opportunity and responsibility before them to prioritize investments that support health, well-being and economic mobility and create a more just and equitable city.” 

Key findings from the data book underscore the urgent need for City investments that address unacceptable and persistent disparities highlighted by an uneven pandemic recovery. They include:  

• Economic Security: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented spike in unemployment and income loss that heavily impacted low-income Black, Brown, and Asian households. While employment rates have since rebounded, recovery has been uneven. Incomes earned at the 80th percentile grew faster and greater in NYC than those earned at the 20th percentile of the income spectrum, leaving a $134,000 gap between the lowest and highest income groups. A third of children live in households in which neither parent or guardian is working full-time. Among families with children, the highest child poverty rates are present in single-mother households, including 30% for Black children and 39% for Latiné children.
• Early Care and Education: The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on enrollment, student engagement and learning, and fiscal stability among service providers despite the city’s historic investments in its public ECE system. The uneven recovery has highlighted affordability and racial disparities for families – 93% of infants and 79% of toddlers are income-eligible for subsidized child care but not enrolled. In communities with the most publicly funded programs, up to 4 children compete for 1 publicly funded ECE seat.
• Housing: Even before the pandemic, the city’s housing market struggled to meet the needs of its most vulnerable populations. In 2023, NYC’s vacancy rate plummeted to an all-time low, with nearly one-third of New Yorkers facing severe rent burdens. Today, about one in three families with children live in overcrowded housing, and overcrowding is most common for Asian and Latiné households.
• Health Inequities: Persistent disparities across race, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status have continued to adversely impact health outcomes for families with children. The pandemic worsened these inequities, particularly among communities of color, which experience higher rates of illness and mortality and a marked decrease in life expectancy. Black mothers account for only 18% of births in the city and make up 41% of pregnancy related deaths. 
• Mental Health: The number of children accessing public mental health services went down in all five boroughs since prior to the pandemic despite demonstrated needs. 38% of High School youth report having symptoms of depression and there has been an increase in the share of highschool youth reporting feeling sad and hopeless, with higher rates among female, transgender, and gay, lesbian and bisexual youth.
• Youth: Despite promising trends in youth justice case outcomes, teen birth rates, and employment, there is still a pressing need for policy reform to address racial and age-based disparities young people face in New York City, from a rise in youth arrests, and a marked increase in school policing. Black and Latiné youth are disconnected from school and employment at more than double the rate of their white peers. Over 80% of NYPD interventions in schools addressed minor offenses or emotional distress.

“Keeping Track’s data and findings provide a robust framework to shape child advocacy priorities and inform budget and public policy decisions that ensure the well-being of all New Yorkers, especially our children and youth,” said Rimsha Khan, Research Associate, CCC. “The data presented in our latest report illustrates an unequal pandemic recovery, revealing persistent disparities that Black, Latiné and Asian communities continue to face. Our goal is to offer a data-informed resource to tackle socioeconomic and systemic issues that affect the most vulnerable communities — their recovery is essential to the city’s long-term success.”

Based on the data from Keeping Track, CCC is calling on New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Council, with support from borough-based and citywide elected leaders, to address heightened disparities and promote an equitable recovery in the FY 2025 New York City Budget, including: 

• Continue the path to universal birth-to-five care by reversing proposed cuts to early care and education, protecting the expansion of Pre-K and 3-K services and increasing investments in full-day, full-year seats. Fund Promise NYC at $25 million to continue serving undocumented families in search of care.
• Focus investments in programs that support year-round development and employment opportunities for New York City youth by restoring and baselining funding for COMPASS after-school services, restoring funds for Summer Rising, and baselining funding for NYC’s Learning to Work program.
• Prevent family homelessness by funding and implementing CityFHEPs eligibility expansion, restoring cuts to contract providers of shelter and homebase, and enhancing legal services for individuals experiencing housing discrimination.
• Support children’s behavioral health needs in schools and communities by restoring funding for the Mental Health Continuum, increasing investments in school based mental health clinics, and by restoring funding for City Council funded initiatives including Children Under Five, Mental Health Services for Vulnerable populations, and Autism Awareness. 
• Increase investments in young families through guaranteed income programs in the city for low-income mothers with infants as well as child welfare and youth justice-involved youth. 
• Enhance access to anti-hunger programs by restoring funds for the Community Food Connection program, restore funding for DOE’s Office of Food and Nutrition Services, and maintain funding for the NYCBenefits program. 

View the interactive digital version of Keeping Track 2024 on CCC’s website at https://cccnewyork.org/keeping-track-2024

For more than 30 years, CCC’s Keeping Track of New York City’s Children data book has provided New Yorkers at large, government officials, philanthropic leaders, academics, and child and family service professionals with information on both welcomed and worrisome trends facing children and families across New York City. The report examines data from dozens of government administrative sources and agencies and disaggregates data by demographic groups to identify meaningful disparities that deserve attention in policy making and public discourse. This data book is a complement to CCC’s interactive online database, data.cccnewyork.org, which houses hundreds of indicators, demographic breakdowns, and several easy-to-use data visualization tools. 

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About CCC 

Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York (CCC) educates and mobilizes New Yorkers to make the city a better place for children. CCC’s advocacy combines public policy research and data analysis with citizen action. CCC casts light on the issues, educates the public, engages allies and identifies and promotes practical solutions to ensure that every New York City child is healthy, housed, educated and safe. For more information about CCC, visit www.cccnewyork.org.