Advocates say more communities across the state are dealing with an increasing number of households who can’t make ends meet. As a result, families are falling short and deeper into poverty.
“The math just doesn’t work is really the main contributing factor,” said Kate Breslin, president and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, which champions efforts to make families stronger.
When the “math isn’t mathing” for a household with children, Breslin says it unfortunately contributes to the state’s growing child poverty rate which is 41st in the nation.
“We need to be thinking about what are the things that parents, families, and communities need,” said Breslin.
A state report from 2022 found more than 2.7 million New Yorkers live in poverty. Among that number, more than 735,000 are children.
That expands to upstate New York, where more recent data from the Census Bureau found Syracuse, Rochester, Albany and Buffalo are ranked among the top in the nation when it comes to child poverty.
“We are working with our leaders in New York State and with families all across the state to try and make child care universal,” said Breslin.
Breslin points to the state’s efforts to expand the child tax credit and schools’ universal meal program as an indication the state is moving in a positive direction, but says federal cuts to food, housing and health insurance are complicating the state’s efforts.
“We continue to work hard to make sure that kids have coverage in New York State, but the significance of the federal reductions will make that really hard,” said Breslin.