New York is seeing mixed progress on child well-being, according to a new annual report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The state ranks 30th in the 2026 Kids Count Data Book, a slight drop from previous years. While New York maintained a high ranking for child health, it lost ground or stagnated in areas such as economic well-being.
Kate Breslin, president and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, said reducing the high cost of living could improve child well-being.
“So many people are rent-burdened,” Breslin pointed out. “Among our efforts to reduce child poverty are also trying to reduce that rent burden by finding ways of providing housing or rental assistance for low-income families.”
New York is working toward the goal of the Child Poverty Reduction Act, reducing child poverty by 50% within a decade. Breslin acknowledged the state Legislature made progress during this year’s legislative session by investing in child care and early childhood education. The state budget includes funding to phase in universal pre-K by 2028.
National initiatives have been able to reduce child poverty, at least temporarily. When Congress passed an expanded child tax credit in 2021, it led to a lower child poverty rate. But after those credits expired, rates rose again.
Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said policymakers should look at child well-being data in their states to determine what is working.
“There are policies that the data and evidence show us work, that they support families in times like now, when costs are rising,” Bossiere asserted. “Housing policies, housing subsidies, critically important to families.”
New York has taken steps to limit housing burdens, but some bills, including the REST Act, failed to pass during the legislative session. The bill would allow upstate cities to access rent stabilization protections. Some housing advocates said upstate New York’s housing crisis will continue because of limited housing stock and rising rents.
Edwin is a reporter and producer in North Tonawanda, New York. He’s previously reported for the Niagara Gazette and the Ithaca Times. Edwin got an early start in radio interning for WBFO-88.7FM, NPR’s Buffalo affiliate. In 2018, he graduated from SUNY Buffalo State College with a B.A. in Journalism, and in 2022, graduated from Syracuse University with an M.S. in Communications.