Citizens' Committee for Children of New York

Today, CCC Executive Director Jennifer March issued the following statement on the handshake agreement between NYC Council Speaker Adams and Mayor Adams on the New York City Fiscal Year 2025 budget: “While we await more details on the final CFY '25 budget deal, we are pleased that the handshake agreement announced by Mayor Adams and Council Speaker Adams makes significant and critical investments in early care and education (ECE). These investments prioritize access to 3-K and Pre-K, make progress towards funding preschool special education, and fund care for immigrant children through Promise NYC. Access to affordable, high-quality early education is not only vital for families, but is essential to the New York City economy. With greater access to care, children benefit from services supporting their growth, development, and school readiness while parents participate in the workforce and provide for their families, spurring economic activity and growth. The investments made in early education will help make New York more livable for all and empower future generations. We stand ready to work with the Adams Administration and City Council to ensure the way the ECE system operates continues to improve and results in timely access to care through effective community-rooted outreach and engagement, greater contract flexibility to serve distinct age ranges and extended days, as well as pays increased attention to meeting the needs of children requiring preschool special education. Progress must also continue regarding on-time payment to service providers and pay equity for teachers and workers. We will be reviewing budget documents as they are released to determine how families fared across the areas of health, education, housing, and community investments.” #ECE #EarlyChildhoodEducation #childcare #specialeducation #Preschool #PreschoolSpecialEducation #NYC #newyorkcity

#ICYMI: State leaders are citing our data to support families! In a letter to Mayor Adams on affordability and the FY25 city budget, over twenty state leaders from the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly, led by Congresswoman Velázquez, expressed concern over affordability for New York City residents amid reported intractability of budget negotiations between the Mayor and City Council. The letter focuses generally on funding for housing, libraries, universities, and child care and references data straight from CCC's own data publications on child care affordability. The letter explains, "80% of New Yorkers cannot afford the cost of childcare, with families allocating as much as 43% of their income to center-based care alone, sometimes more." Read the CCC report this data is from: https://bit.ly/birthto12 CCC agrees that the budget must focus on affordability. We have the tools and data needed to make investments that make a difference, especially when it comes to child care. Currently, families with kids under six are leaving NYC at twice the rate of others as the cost of care is driving many households to their financial breaking point. Child care access is critical to the health of our local economy and families. Take action in support of protecting child care access: https://bit.ly/ecys24 Read the letter: https://lnkd.in/eUqHwnHR

Today is Juneteenth, the annual celebration of freedom, empowerment, and solidarity—the anniversary of the end of slavery in America and what is often referred to as America’s second independence day. Commemorating this moment in American history feels particularly relevant as advocacy organizations like CCC fight to push forward true equity in housing, economic security, health outcomes, and youth justice, working to achieve the goal that every child is healthy, housed, educated, and safe. In this pursuit we cannot ignore the role that systemic racism has played in creating disparity across areas of well-being for families and we must continually and vocally renew our mission to understand this disparity and dismantle it with impactful legislation, investments, and community building. Join us today in acknowledging the activism, advocacy, and history that elevates Black voices and uplifts civil rights. #junteenth #freedomday #equity #advocacy

CCC-Supported Legislation Making Moves & What’s Next In early June, the legislative session of the New York State Legislature ended for summer. At the state level, conversations mirrored a lot of what’s been and is still being discussed at the city level: lack of affordable child care access, high housing costs, and more. While there is still significant work to be done to uplift New York families overall, there was some really good progress made with state legislation that CCC supported. Reflecting on this year’s session, we are celebrating several legislative victories that promise to advance our collective goals, especially in supporting child care in New York State. Read our latest Insight to learn about the bills and more: https://bit.ly/nysleg24

#ICYMI fifteen of the city's major labor organizations are calling on Mayor Adams to reverse the budget cuts to the city's Pre-K and 3-K program and to protect universal access to child care in the city’s budget. In a letter sent to City Hall on June 11, these unions echo CCC's own call to action for child care access and funding and cite CCC's data on the unaffordability of child care to underscore just how important these investments are for the well-being of the city and families. Together these unions represented thousands of New Yorkers.  Read the letter here: https://lnkd.in/e4Vct3kA If you agree with this letter and our priorities to protect Pre-K and 3-K investments, please take a stand with us and these unions and take action now: https://bit.ly/ecys24 #Advocacy #ChildAdvocacy #ChildCare #NYC

As we celebrate Pride Month, we recognize that LGBTQ+ individuals experience higher rates of hunger and poverty than non-LGBTQ+ people. SNAP can be a lifeline for people facing hunger, allowing them to purchase food at grocery stores, farmers markets, and other retailers. This month, please spread the word about the vital support SNAP can provide to LGBTQ+ individuals and families. If you or someone you know is experiencing hunger, the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) can help. NOEP can tell you if you may be eligible for SNAP, help you apply, and work with you to resolve barriers. Visit FoodHelpNY.org to find a NOEP Coordinator near you. It is always free and confidential.

📣NYC Advocacy Opportunity📣 Today, NY1 is reporting that the Mayor and City Council are still far off from a budget deal with only two weeks to go until the deadline. Though a bit troubling, this news means there is still time to make a difference in the budget through CCC's four campaigns. Help us urge the Mayor and City Council to put families and children first in the budget by: investing in needed food and housing supports amid ongoing affordability crises; rejecting and reversing budget cuts to child care programs; and investing in critical behavioral health services. Take two minutes to take action here: https://bit.ly/cccaction #advocacy #childcare #housing #foodsecurity #AntiHunger #MentalHealth #behavioralhealth

📢ADVOCAY OPPORTUNITY📢 Please take just 2 minutes to take action with us to send a message to the Mayor and city leaders that mental health funding MUST be a priority for the FY25 budget: https://bit.ly/BHCB25 On Tuesday, Alice Bufkin, CCC’s associate executive director of policy and advocacy and Tara Klein, United Neighborhood Houses deputy director of policy and advocacy co-emceed a rally (put together by CCC, UNH, UJA-Federation of New York, and InUnity Alliance) on the steps of City Hall on behavioral health supports that need funding restored and/or baselined in the city’s FY25 budget. Joining them were advocates, CBOs, providers, and allies, all with a powerful message to send to our city leaders: mental👏health👏matters👏. On behalf of CCC, Alice spoke about service investments for school-based mental health clinics and funding for the mental health continuum which is a successful collaborative model for tackling youth mental health that is at risk of disappearing altogether. Other priorities include funding autism wraparound services, children under five initiatives, addiction services and much more. #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #behavioralhealth #addiction #addictionrecovery #autismawareness #youthmentalhealth #childadvocacy

Big shoutout to CCC Board Member Abe Fernández from Children's Aid and Advocacy Council Member Eileen Torres from BronxWorks for making the 2024 Bronx Power 100 list in City & State New York! Your voices are influential and critical in moving the needle for well-being across NYC and in the Bronx--we are thrilled to have you in the CCC community. https://lnkd.in/eHewdkYf

New York City is facing a historic housing and shelter capacity crisis that disproportionally impacts families of color. According to current data, over 32,500 children live in NYC DHS shelters.  As shelters stay full, evictions steadily rise, and rent prices increase, housing instability is impacting more and more families. Up to 75% of households living in or near poverty are severely rent burdened, meaning rent takes up 50% or more of household income.  We MUST invest in solutions that prevent family homelessness and support families exiting shelter. Please help us urge City leaders to support priorities that would help tens of thousands of children and their families avoid evictions and enable them to exit shelter to find stable housing. https://bit.ly/HSCB25 #Housing #Homelessness #NYC #NYCShelter #HousingVouchers