Citizens' Committee for Children of New York

07/21/2026

NYCis home to nearly 1.7 million children—more than the total population of most U.S. cities.

Over the past decade, the number of children in the city has declined, particularly among children under 5.

Rising costs and affordability pressures are contributing factors, as more families have left the city in recent years.

Chapter 1 in CCC's 2026 Keeping Track of NYC's Children data book focuses on demographic data for NYC's children.

Explore more data now: cccnewyork.org/keeping-track-2026/

07/17/2026

On July 14, CCC and partners in the Early Intervention Equity Collaborative convened public leaders, service providers, parents, advocates, and philanthropic partners to discuss solutions that can expand access to Early Intervention (EI) as a critical part of NYC’s early childhood continuum.

Speakers highlighted the persistent barriers families face including stigma, fragmented systems, workforce shortages, language barriers, and underinvestment and explored how the EI Ambassador model can close existing gaps by building trust, providing culturally and linguistically responsive services, and guiding families through the EI process.

New York City leaders shared their goals and priorities related to strengthening special education, expanding child care, and improving access to Early Intervention. The day’s conversations reinforced the importance of coordination among healthcare providers, community-based organizations, and city agencies to make services more accessible for families with young children.

Thank you to our speakers and partners for coordinating on this important and informative Early Intervention forum: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Aid, United for Brownsville, Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC), Staten Island Alliance for North Shore Children & Families, Literacy in Community

And special thanks to our event sponsor, The Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation.

07/16/2026

📅 Save the date 📅

Join us on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 for our annual Celebration Breakfast as we bring together nonprofit, public service, philanthropic, and business leaders to celebrate CCC's data-driven child advocacy.

Honorees, speakers, and program details to be announced.

Tables and tickets are available now!

Reserve your ticket or table today: https://bit.ly/CCCCB26

07/15/2026

CCC’s data shows that food pantry usage has surged over the past decade, nearly tripling from 3.1 million individuals served in 2017 to over 8.2 million in 2025. Related, over the last five years food prices have risen by 29% while median income for families with children has only risen by 18%.

https://gothamist.com/news/food-pantries-see-long-summer-lines-as-new-yorkers-lose-snap-benefits-in-trump-overhaul

They say they have enough food for now but worry they’ll run out of supplies once more New Yorkers begin losing their SNAP benefits.

07/14/2026

On June 30, 2026, the Mayor and City Council adopted a $125.8 billion budget with several investments that align with CCC's advocacy priorities, including:

➡️ Investments in early care and education, including Preschool Special Education services and evaluations, higher provider contract rates, Special Education Pre-K expansion, PromiseNYC, and additional support for outreach, staffing, facilities, and family child care.

➡️ More than $125 million for Summer Rising programming through NYC Public Schools and the Department of Youth and Community Development.

➡️ $59 million for Community Food Connections, supporting more than 700 community kitchens and food pantries.

➡️ Restored funding for school-based mental health services, restorative justice, immigrant family outreach, and Student Success Centers.

➡️ Expanded CityFHEPS rental assistance, baselined Fair Fares funding, restored NYCBenefits funding, and investment in NYC Kids Rise college savings accounts.

These investments will strengthen supports for children, families, and communities across NYC.

However, gaps remain.

The budget does not resolve the child care voucher crisis, which has left more than 25,000 low-income families on waitlists for affordable child care, and fails to restore funding for key child welfare prevention programs in Brooklyn and Queens.

Our full overview of the FY2027 Adopted Budget is now available on our website: https://cccnewyork.org/data-publications/fy27-nyc-budget/

On June 30, 2026, the Mamdani Administration and the New York City Council adopted the $125.8 billion FY 2027 Budget. The Adopted Budget includes a number of critical investments in children and families, many of which align with CCC’s priorities for the year. These include:

07/08/2026

8,000+ NYC households were evicted between January and June of this year — a scale of displacement not seen since before the pandemic.

"It speaks to the number of families facing financial insecurity," said Raysa S. Rodriguez, Executive Director of Citizens' Committee for Children of New York. "It means more families with children having to turn to shelter and more families with children living in crowded and doubled-up situations."

Eviction doesn't just cost families their homes — it costs children stability, school continuity, and safety. New York's affordability crisis is a child well-being crisis.

Read more from Gothamist on the data and CCC's housing advocacy: https://gothamist.com/news/more-than-8k-nyc-renters-evicted-so-far-this-year-as-affordability-crisis-grows

City data shows there were an average of 1,345 monthly evictions in the first half of 2026.

07/02/2026

Early Intervention can be life-changing for young children with developmental delays, but too many NYC families cannot access needed services because of provider shortages, administrative hurdles, and barriers to accessing care.

Join CCC and a network of Early Childhood Collaboratives on July 14 for Supported from the Start: A Citywide Forum on Early Intervention & Early Childhood Development.

The forum will bring together public leaders, service providers, parents, advocates, and philanthropic partners to explore how EI can better support the early childhood continuum.

📅 Tuesday, July 14, 2026
📍 The Legal Aid Society Training & Advocacy Center (55 Water St, 36th Floor)
🕘 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Doors open at 8:45 AM

The program will feature:
✅ Understanding the Early Intervention Landscape
✅ NYC Leaders Spotlight: Building an Integrated Early Childhood System
✅ Panel Discussion: Community-Based Solutions in Action
✅ Panel Discussion: Families at the Center
✅ Call to Action: Partnership, Policy & the Path Forward

Together, we will examine what is needed to strengthen coordination, reduce disparities in access, and build a more equitable, integrated, and family-centered early childhood system.

Presented by: Citizens' Committee for Children of New York, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Aid, United for Brownsville, Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC), Staten Island Alliance for North Shore Children & Families

Sponsored by: The Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation

Space is limited, register now: https://cccnewyork.org/events/ccc-early-intervention-event/

Early Intervention (EI) provides crucial evaluations and services to young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. As New York City continues to expand universal childcare options for families, it has never been more important to understand how EI and other developmen...

06/22/2026

Incarcerating young people doesn't make communities safer — investing in them does.

Research shows that alternatives to incarceration and reentry programs reduce recidivism and crime.

For every dollar invested in ATI programs, studies estimate $3.46 to $5.54 in returns — plus reduced criminal justice costs and better
community health outcomes. (Source: NY ATI Re-entry Coalition)

New York City's young people have said clearly: community safety means access to holistic support, not further criminalization.

Urge city leaders to fully invest in alternatives to incarceration for youth now: https://cccnewyork.org/campaigns/tell-city-leaders-to-invest-in-supports-for-justice-involved-youth/

Tell City Leaders: Invest in Supports for Justice-Involved Youth Young people in New York have made clear that their vision of community safety requires access to holistic support – not further criminalization. Investing in alternatives to incarceration (ATI) programs and supports for youth create...

06/18/2026

to June 4 when housing advocates and NYC families gathered on the steps of City Hall to call for funding and implementation of the CityFHEPS expansion now (featuring Kadisha Davis from the Family Homelessness Coalition Family Action Board!)

CityFHEPS rental vouchers are a powerful tool helping families secure stable homes and exit shelter.

As housing insecurity continues to impact children and families, expanding voucher access is key to increasing housing access.

The facts?

There are more than 33,600 children across the city’s shelter system.

52% of people in DHS family shelters are children.

The average DHS length of shelter stay was 372 days for families with children.

29% of NYC renters spend at least half of their income towards rent.

Nearly 17,400 residential evictions occurred in 2025, exceeding 2019 levels.

City leaders must implement the CityFHEPS expansion now!

06/18/2026

1 in 4 New York City children do not have enough food to eat and federal SNAP cuts are driving more families to food pantries than ever.

Hunger is rising across the city, but the City Budget can fund a proven lifeline for children and families.

Community Food Connection (CFC) is a city program that supports more than 700 food pantries and soup kitchens across the city.

The city must invest $100 million to meet this rising demand.

Urge city leaders to increase CFC funding now: https://bit.ly/CFCTA27

NYC Can Fight Hunger with Increased Community Food Connection Investments! Anti-hunger programs reduce the prevalence of child poverty and contribute to better health, education, and community outcomes across a child’s life. These programs are more important than ever as costs continue to rise, an...