Statement: FY24 Adopted State Budget Delivers Wins for Children and Takes Action on Education Equity

“At Robin Hood, we relentlessly study the evidence to ensure our investments in the fight against poverty have a real impact on New Yorkers — and we look for our political and policy leaders to do the same. This year, we have focused on the clear evidence that federal pandemic-era relief policies – including the temporarily-expanded Federal Child Tax Credit – kept 500,000 children in New York City above the poverty line in 2021 and called on the state to improve its Empire State Child Tax Credit. Thanks to Governor Hochul and the legislature, nearly 1 million New York children will benefit from the expansion of the Empire State Child Tax Credit to now include children under four. For years, Robin Hood and our community partners have been fighting for this change and it puts the state on the path to having the most powerful child tax credit possible in future budget sessions to achieve the state’s goal of cutting child poverty in half before the end of the decade.”

“Our children have suffered greatly in the wake of the pandemic, and we need to do everything we can to support them. We applaud Governor Hochul and legislative leaders for providing full student funding for public schools in New York City. We have long advocated for this change and are pleased to see that more resources can be directed towards classroom instruction in the nation’s largest public school system, particularly during this uniquely challenging moment. We are also grateful to Governor Hochul for leading the charge to reissue 14 previously expired charters in New York City, allowing thousands more of the city’s Black, Latinx, and economically disadvantaged students to have a fair shot at a high-quality education in schools that will provide accountability for student performance.”

“The State’s investments in childcare are also essential. We thank Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie for their leadership in expanding the governor’s proposed investment in bonuses to childcare workers from an initial $380 million to $500 million in the adopted budget. This is critical funding that will prevent our childcare workers, largely women of color, from fleeing the sector due to near poverty wages. A childcare system that pays a living wage to its workforce is vital for our economy and the development of children across the state, and we look forward to building on this investment.”

“While Albany adopted important solutions that directly improve outcomes for children, the state missed an opportunity to address broader issues that impact child wellbeing.”

“Despite the governor’s strong initial Housing Compact proposal to drastically increase the state’s supply of housing that is affordable to the average family, Albany’s failure to comprehensively tackle the housing crisis is a major missed opportunity. New York remains deeply unaffordable, and we must prioritize plans to build more units and keep low-income families housed through the creation of a state rental voucher program and more robust tenant protections before the legislative session ends. As we eagerly await long-term solutions, we recognize efforts by the governor and legislature to avoid a tidal wave of evictions by ensuring public housing tenants are immediately eligible for $400 million in newly allocated rental assistance.”

“Additionally, leaders in Albany had a responsibility to deliver a strong and fair wage for hourly workers across the state. While we appreciate the increase in the minimum wage to $17 by 2026, the deal lawmakers struck fails to keep pace with inflation at a time when the cost of basic goods, like eggs and milk, is skyrocketing. This amounts to a new wage floor that fails to match the value of the once nationally leading $15 per hour wage reached in 2019. Furthermore, their inability to address structural issues of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit means that the lowest paid hourly workers will be effectively taxed at the same rate as high-income earners. If we’re serious about fighting inequity and rebuilding for the future, we must prioritize changes that lift New Yorkers out of poverty and make meaningful improvements to our wage and tax policies for low-income workers.”

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About Robin Hood:

This year Robin Hood celebrates its 35th year of funding, supporting, and connecting New York’s most impactful community organizations at the forefront in the battle against poverty. We’re NYC’s largest local poverty-fighting philanthropy and since 1988, we’ve invested more than $3 billion to elevate and fuel the permanent escape of New Yorkers from poverty. Last year, through grantmaking with 300+ community partners, we created pathways to opportunities out of poverty for more than 325,000 New Yorkers, and through our strategic partnerships on child care, child poverty, jobs, and living wages, we are scaling impact at a population level for the more than 1.4 million New Yorkers living in poverty. At Robin Hood, we believe your starting point in life should not define where you end up. To learn more about our work and impact, follow us on Twitter @RobinHoodNYC or go to robinhood.org.