New York, NY – In response to the release of the One-House Budget Resolutions, Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC) Executive Director Jennifer March issued the following statement:

“Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York applauds the Senate and Assembly members for advancing One-House Budget Resolutions that build on the Governor’s FY2024 Executive Budget in critical ways.

We applaud New York legislators for advancing One-House budget resolutions that address the pressing needs of everyday New Yorkers and serve to enrich the lives of children, families, and communities. As New Yorkers continue to struggle to make ends meet and cover the costs of rent and groceries, we commend legislators for advancing proposals that would increase economic security and housing security by lifting the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation, enhancing the Enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Empire State Child Credit, fully funding the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) and supporting an 8.5% cost-of-living adjustment for health and human services workers.  Importantly, one house proposals would also address hunger and food insecurity by making school meals free for all New York public school students.

We are also pleased to see a shared commitment to improve access to essential supports for children, youth and families by increasing rates of reimbursement for Early Intervention services, adding investments in child care, restoring funds for child welfare prevention, and expanding access to loan forgiveness for the mental health care workforce.

In addition, supporting the proposals mentioned above, we urge the Senate, Assembly, and Governor to reach consensus on additional priorities including: increasing behavioral health funding dedicated to children and families, funding Emergency Rental Assistance (ERAP), permanently reauthorize Close to Home, and increasing the value of the child welfare housing subsidy.

We look forward to working with our elected leaders as they finalize this historic budget and are hopeful that the SFY’24 adopted budget provides New Yorkers with the supports, services, and financial relief they need to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and thrive.”