CCC is a major advocate for anti-poverty policies. We know that we can end child poverty in New York and that the solutions to do so involve investments in support programs and lifting household financial security. In fact, each of CCC’s areas of advocacy—healthy, housed, educated, and safe—frequently overlap under the umbrella of economic security and poverty reduction. For Poverty Awareness Month, let’s dive into our current anti-poverty work.

The Statewide Need & The Work

New York children are more likely to live in poverty than in 32 other states, amounting to a rate of roughly 1 in 5 children and according to Feeding America,  nearly 1 in 5 children in New York State experience regular hunger. Our own data analysis shows that in 22 counties in the state, more than 20% of children live in households below the poverty level. But since the cost of living in New York is higher than the national average, we also know that thousands more families in our communities are struggling with food and income insecurity among other material hardships. Further, the poverty rate approaches 1 in 3 among children of color and affects nearly half of children in some areas like Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse.

In our efforts to promote and influence policies that reduce child poverty in New York at the state level, we are a member of several coalitions that address income, housing, and food insecurity directly: Healthy School Meals for All NY, New York Can End Child Poverty, and SNAP4All. Through this coalition work, we can connect with partners and state leaders to promote poverty reduction policy with data, expertise, and enthusiasm. You may have seen an Insight in late December on our advocacy with the New York Can End Child Poverty coalition ahead of the new year, outlining critical priorities.

The Solutions & Our State Priorities

On January 14, Governor Hochul addressed the state for 2025 with her ideas for what investments should be in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Since then, she has released an Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2026 that includes encouraging poverty-fighting opportunities. Two investments, in particular, align with coalition priorities:

🧾 Expanding the Child Tax Credit over two years, giving eligible parents $1,000 for kids under 4-years-old and $500 for kids ages 4-16

🍎 Providing free school breakfast and free school lunch for every student in New York

Healthy School Meals for All has long advocated to establish statewide universal school meals to ensure every New York student has access to a free school breakfast and lunch each school day. Governor Hochul’s announcement to include this in the state budget is a major win for food security and child poverty reduction. Read more about how exactly school meals can reduce poverty in NY here.

Expanding and increasing the state’s child tax credit, known as the Empire State child credit (ESCC), is also a priority of CCC’s and the New York Can End Child Poverty coalition. Currently, the ESCC offers a maximum credit of $330 per child annually. The Governor’s proposed increase is a significant jump from the current maximum and would impact 2.75 million children statewide. When fully implemented, the Governor’s Office estimates that this initiative could reduce poverty among children statewide by over 8% alone. While we fully support this critical step forward, this initiative is time limited, lasting only two years, which leaves questions for families beyond 2027. There is ample data showing how increased tax credits reduce child poverty, so to truly accomplish a 50% reduction in child poverty per New York’s Child Poverty Reduction Act, the baseline of any expansion and increase must be permanent. CCC also believes this increase should go even further for the most impact: offering $1,500 per child, including children 16-17, and indexing the tax credit to inflation. This is a strong step forward by Governor Hochul but we must be more ambitious to truly support economic security for children and families in New York.

Overall, our state priorities that directly tackle child poverty and align with the Coalition and the recommendations of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) are strong solutions that New York leaders can adopt and fund. In addition to the increase and expansion of the ESCC mentioned, the priorities include:

🏠 Housing Vouchers: Across the state, nearly 2 in 5 (approximately 3 million) households are rent burdened, paying more than 30% of their income on housing, and 1 in 5 (approximately 1.5 million) are severely rent-burdened, spending more than 50% of their income on housing each year. New York should create its own rental assistance program to serve income-eligible renting households not currently receiving other rental vouchers. A statewide rental assistance program would cut child poverty by nearly 16% statewide. The program would move 82,000 children out of poverty.

💲 Cash Assistance: For many decades, New York State has provided cash assistance to low-income New Yorkers to fulfill basic cash needs (diapers, transportation, food, etc.), funded by local, State, and federal TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds known as the “Cash Assistance” program. However, the amounts allotted to families have not been increased in 12 years. Additionally, rules about which working families qualify and how much they can save, leave many families out. The program needs a 100% increase in benefits to bring the level for a family of two to $500 per month. This would decrease child poverty by 18%.

🍽️ Food Assistance for All: SNAP is a powerful tool for reducing child poverty, but nearly 65,000 New York households with children are currently excluded from participating in SNAP due to their family’s immigration status. Creating a Food Assistance Program that fills in the gaps left by federal SNAP regulations would reduce child poverty and help make New York State’s ideals of racial equity and a welcoming home for all a reality. Plus, data shows that for every $1 in SNAP dollars, nearly $2 is invested back into the community.

New York Can End Child Poverty has created a simple one-pager outlining these important priorities along with the full recommendation for the state’s tax credit. Read the one-pager here.

This is just a portion of the work we’re doing and what we’re advocating for at the state level this year. Our work in youth justice, health, and education all also tackle child poverty in other significant ways, setting up future successes for every New York child and youth.