Lack of Sustained Investment Will Be Felt by New York’s Families - inclusion of continuous Medicaid and Child

The policies and investments we champion are those proven to prevent children and families from experiencing the hardships of poverty, ill-health, food insecurity and other challenges; policies that stand to transform the public systems that serve and support the well-being of New York’s children, families, and communities over the long-term. [...] We celebrate the budget’s addition of state funds to the state child care assistance program to both fill the hole left by the end of federal pandemic funds, and to expand the program. [...] This budget also missed the opportunity to ensure that parents who work variable hours in retail, the trades, the gig economy, and food service can access child care by ending the State’s practice of tying child care assistance to caretakers’ exact hours of work—known as decoupling. [...] Legislation to end this practice—which has disproportionately kept low-income, immigrant, and Black and brown New York families from accessing child care assistance—was passed by the Legislature last year and vetoed by the Governor, with instructions for the Legislature to take the issue up in budget negotiations. [...] Next Steps Toward Investments that Support the Well-Being of New York’s Children and Families In the two months left of legislative session, we will be working hard to secure passage of a number of laws designed to make the child welfare, child care, and health systems better serve and support families, in a manner that is more just and equitable.