Amid troubling report on child poverty, New York communities say hard work continues
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is focusing her agenda this legislative session on affordability — and she says programs for young people and child care are a key component. But a new report finds acute challenges in many communities.
A report by the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy examining the “State of New York’s Children” finds nearly one-in-five kids lived in poverty in 2023.
The rates continued to exceed national numbers in 2023, two years after the state’s passage of the Child Poverty Reduction Act.
Counties across the state with the highest child poverty rates include Rockland, Oswego, and Franklin. Among mid-size cities, child poverty reached 46 percent in Syracuse, 42 percent in Binghamton, and 41 percent in Troy and Rochester.
Schuyler Center CEO Kate Breslin, whose organization advocates for improvements to health and welfare policy in New York, says the state’s high poverty rates are due, in part, to high costs of living.
“It’s hard to say the you know; the reasons are different in different places,” Breslin said. “But what we do know is that we can make policy choices that will change that.”
Nationwide, New York ranks 40th in the nation for child poverty, according to Kids Count Data Center.
Breslin supports refundable tax credits, housing and nutritional supports, and improved accessibility to affordable childcare.
“Some of our policies are designed in such a way that they disincentivize work,” Breslin said. “So, if a family, let's say, gets some amount of food assistance, but mom gets a small raise at work, and suddenly they no longer so mom gets, let's say, a 50 cent raise per hour at work, yet that pushes the family off of benefits. I would argue that that then disincentivizes mom from taking a salary increase or working more hours at work. So, there are things that we can do to incentivize families to do the best they can in their jobs and whatever else, and not penalize them for it.”
According to the report, state lawmakers in Albany don’t have to look far for real-world examples.
First-term Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello says her administration is working to give kids and teenagers opportunities to be set up for future success.
“We're doing everything humanly possible, on one hand, to try to get these kids to understand that there are other choices in life, that they don't need to join a gang to make money,” Mantello said. “There is a workforce program to really teach them the values of, being a part of your community at the same time, get a little bit of money at the same time, learn skills.”
Mantello, a Republican, says upon taking office in 2024, she came to understand the importance of setting up programs to support the city’s youth.
Youth Services and Community Specialist Victor Patterson says the city works with nonprofits across the region to help children and families out of poverty.
“One thing that we do know is, when a child is hungry, they can get themselves in trouble,” Patterson said. We also know that when they hungry, they find themselves, you know, mischief, stealing and fighting and things of that nature. But if we can meet those basic needs, we can see that the violence decreased.”
In 2024, a report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found Nearly half of the children living in poverty were classified as living in deep poverty – meaning they are in a household with an income less than 50 percent of the federal poverty line. In her budget, Hochul proposed investments in child care, tax cuts, and tax rebate checks.
And in Franklin County, in northern New York, Department of Social Services Commissioner Michele Mulverhill and County Manager Donna Kissane said in a statement the county recognizes the need to improve child poverty and is working to make families aware of social services and work with schools to provide free meals. Hochul is also proposing a statewide free school meals policy.
