June 26, 2014

New York City Budget is a Big Win for Children!

In the early morning hours of June 26^th, while most of the city’s 1.8 million children were likely sleeping, the City Council voted to adopt a budget for Fiscal Year 2015. The Fiscal Year 2015 Adopted Budget is poised to make New York City a better place for all children.

The de Blasio Administration and City Council’s first budget includes funding for many new programs and initiatives that will surely improve child well-being. You can read CCC’s Summary of the City Fiscal Year 2015 Adopted Budget.

When Mayor de Blasio proposed the budget this spring, it included funding for full-day pre-kindergarten for every 4-year-old and after-school programs for every middle school student, as well as funding for 100 new shelter beds for runaway and homeless youth, additional ACS staff to help keep children safe, and funding for a new housing subsidy program for homeless families. You can read CCC’s Summary of the Mayor’s Executive Budget.  

Over the past few months, the City Council has been holding hearings with all of the City Agencies and the public to help formulate their priorities. CCC’s testimony from the public hearing is available here. The City Council has also been meeting with advocates and community members to hear their budget priorities. CCC staff and volunteers shared our Fiscal Year 2015 priorities, many of which were included in the Adopted Budget.This deliberative process led the City Council to include funding for additional programs, restorations and initiatives. 

For example, the City Council restored funding for 22,000 children to attend summer camp, food stamps at farmers’ markets, and school supplies for teachers. The City Council also created new initiatives including free school lunch for middle school students, an early literacy program for children 0-5 years of age, and mental health services for court-involved youth.

CCC is grateful to the City Council, the Mayor and all the City Agencies for their efforts to ensure the City’s Fiscal Year 2015 Adopted Budget was such a big win for children and families!  You can read our full summary of the adopted budget here.  You can also learn more about the City Budget process.

Tags
City Budget, Economic Security, Education, Family & Community, Health, Housing, Youth

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