Photos of the event are available for download.

New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Commissioner Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden today presented an overview of the New York State 2025-26 Enacted Budget to a gathering of community leaders at an event hosted by The Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester and The Children’s Agenda. The budget represents a significant commitment by Governor Kathy Hochul to strengthening supports and services for New York State’s children, families and communities – including child care services, child advocacy centers and youth development programing. 

“The state fiscal year 2025-2026 Enacted Budget underscores Governor Hochul’s commitment to the most vulnerable, making our great state more affordable for children and families to live and thrive, and supports the educational, social, emotional, physical, and mental health and well-being of children, youth and families,” Dr. Harris-Madden said.  

The Commissioner pointed to the ongoing initiatives to support child care services as particular highlights in the budget plan. “Governor Hochul has been unwavering in her dedication to expanding access to high-quality child care for New York’s families, investing more than $7 billion over four years upon taking office,” Dr. Harris-Madden said. “This historic commitment has resulted in the largest expansion of the Child Care Assistance Program in New York State’s history.” 

Since last year, there has been a 34% increase in the number of children statewide served by the Child Care Assistance Program. There are almost 7,500 children in Monroe County currently accessing child care assistance. 

“As a New Yorker, I am proud that the State Fiscal Year 2026 Enacted Budget embodies synergy and innovation across multiple disciplines and systems, making transformational investments that will change the trajectory for many children and families,” she added. 

The budget presentation was held at The Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester. The Children’s Agenda is a child advocacy organization in Rochester that works on issues related to child care, child poverty, early intervention, education, health and racial equity. 

Highlights in the Enacted Budget include: 

• A $400 million increase in funding to preserve access to child care assistance for eligible families. 

• $3 million to create new child care substitute worker pools that will help prevent closures of licensed and registered child care programs when there are staffing shortages. 

• $1 million for continued support of the Business Navigator program, which offers resources to employers who want to help their employees find child care services. 

• $112.2 million for grants supporting eligible after-school programs. 

• $1 million to support the creation of the New York Coalition for Child Care, which will bring together business leaders, labor unions, service providers and tax experts to identify a sustainable path forward for achieving universal child care.  

• $110 million to build or renovate child care facilities, particularly in areas with a shortage of child care services. 

• Doubling funding for child advocacy centers from $7.2 million to $14.4 million. Child advocacy centers provide a child-friendly, safe, supportive environment and services for child victims of abuse or neglect and their non-offending caretakers.   

• $14.2 million to fund a 2.6% cost of living wage increase for certain human services employees at some of the not-for-profit agencies that receive funding from OCFS. The increases are intended to support recruitment and retention of human services workers. 

• A $7.5 million increase in base Youth Development Program funding to $21.6 million, which supports a variety of locally approved programs including youth bureaus, after-school programs and various other services that help prevent juvenile delinquency and foster positive youth development. 

• An increase of $7.5 million to $12.5 million for the Youth Sports and Education Opportunity funding, and $10 million for the Youth Team Sports Program, which provide funding to municipal youth bureaus to make grants available to not-for-profit or local community-based organizations that provide sports programming to youth under the age of 18.  

Monroe County Department of Human Services Commissioner Thalia Wright said, “Our dedicated and highly specialized CPS team works tirelessly at the Child Advocacy Center, collaborating closely with law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office, and our partner agencies to protect children and families—and to hold abusers accountable. This critical funding from Governor Hochul will significantly strengthen our ability to ensure every child and caregiver is safe, supported, and heard. We are deeply grateful to the Governor and OCFS for their continued partnership and steadfast commitment to safeguarding the most vulnerable members of our community.” 

The Child Advocacy Center (CAC) Interim Chief Executive Officer Mary Whittier said, “We are incredibly grateful for this support from OCFS, who has been a partner with us for over 20 years in the fight against child abuse.  This additional funding will allow the CAC to not only continue providing the highest quality services in the Greater Rochester region but also grow and adapt those services to meet the evolving needs of our community.” 

The Children’s Agenda Chief Executive Officer Larry Marx said, “We applaud the investments made by the Governor and legislature this year to improve families’ economic security, particularly given the devastating cuts being pushed through at the federal level. From tax credits to baby benefits to universal school meals, New York State is investing in children’s success in meaningful ways. We look forward to continuing to work with state leaders in advancing policy changes that will benefit children in every community in New York.” 

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said, “Abuse—whether physical, emotional, or psychological—against our children and families will never be tolerated in Monroe County. The health, safety, and well-being of our children must always be our top priority. That means backing our words with action—and funding. This substantial increase in support from Governor Kathy Hochul more than doubles the state’s investment in our Child Advocacy Center, allowing our CPS teams to reach and protect more children and families impacted by abuse. I’m deeply grateful for the Governor’s leadership and her unwavering commitment to help us build a safer, stronger Monroe County where every child can grow up free from harm.”  

About the New York State Office of Children and Family Services 
The Office of Children and Family Services serves New York's public by promoting the safety, permanency and well-being of children, families and communities. The agency provides a system of family support, juvenile justice, youth development, child care and child welfare services and is responsible for programs and services involving foster care, adoption and adoption assistance, child protective services, preventive services for children and families, and protective programs for vulnerable adults.