New York Senate and Assembly: Keep New York’s Commitment to Cut Child Poverty!
New York continues to have the worst income inequality and some of the highest child poverty rates in the nation. In 2021 New York State set a goal to cut child poverty in half, and this past December, the state's Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council issued their recommendations to reach this goal. These recommendations include:
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Increasing the Empire Child Credit from $330 per child to $1,500 per child annually, expanding eligibility to include the lowest income families, and indexing the credit amount to inflation.
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Creating a state rental assistance program to serve income-eligible renting households. The program would cover the difference between the rent and 30% of household income, would be available to households regardless of immigration status, and would be an entitlement so that all income-eligible renting households would be able to access support.
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Doubling the Cash Assistance program benefit amount and indexing it to inflation.
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Creating a state Food Assistance Program that would cover the nearly 65,000 households with children that are currently excluded from participating in SNAP due to their family’s immigration status.
In December, we delivered a petition to Gov. Hochul signed by over 35 organizations and 1250 individuals calling on the governor to include the full recommendations in her budget proposal, and to pay for them by fairly taxing the wealthiest corporations and individuals.
Gov. Hochul released her budget proposal in January, and while there were some positive steps, it falls far short of what CPRAC recommended and what New Yorkers need and deserve.
Now the NYS Assembly and Senate are putting together their own budget proposals, and they need to hear from us - their constituents - that we expect them to follow through on New York's commitment to cut child poverty in half. Send a letter to your New York State representatives today!
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