As faith-based organizations from across New York, we write to you to uplift the moral and human need for you to empanel the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council with utmost urgency and to prioritize appointing to the council impacted youth and clergy leaders who serve in impacted communities.
Children’s Defense Fund – New York (CDF-NY) is grateful to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) for the opportunity to comment on its proposed amendment to New York’s Medicaid Redesign Team Waiver Demonstration, titled Strategic Health Equity Reform Payment Arrangements: Making Targeted, Evidence-Based Investments to Address the Health Disparities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Children’s Defense Fund – New York (CDF-NY) strongly supports S. 8438 (Rivera) / A. 9294 (Gottfried), which would extend continuous Medicaid coverage of infants from up to one year to up to three years for families whose income does not exceed 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
Mired in last-minute negotiations to roll-back recent criminal justice reforms, including Raise the Age, the final State Budget is a disappointment for children, youth and families. While we cannot overlook important new investments in child care and health care for new mothers, the budget still failed to prioritize our children.
Today, New York State legislators reached a budgetary agreement preserving the Raise the Age law, despite Governor Hochul’s last-minute effort to roll back this historic set of reforms. The Raise the Age NY Coalition is grateful for our champions in the New York State Senate and Assembly who have stood up for New York’s young people and fought for a more equitable criminal justice system during these negotiations.
In the absence of racial impact assessment, legislation that “appears” race-neutral at face value can, in practice, adversely – and disparately – affect New York’s children and families of color. Just as our State legislators consider the fiscal and environmental impacts of new laws, so too must they examine the potential racial disparities of all legislation and rule-making activity – prior to enactment.
New York can and must do better for our children, youth and families. This report is a blueprint for addressing the most pressing needs of New York children, and the Governor and the Legislature must adopt these proposals in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget to realize our bold vision rooted in making opportunities accessible, ending harm and transforming systems.
