January 14, 2025

Feelings of positivity and excitement were everywhere at Governor Hochul’s State of the State address today. We heard a lot of optimism about initiatives that will improve the quality of life for New Yorkers. While we did not hear specifics about investing 7.8% in vital Human Services that would translate that optimism into reality for vulnerable New Yorkers, we do look forward to seeing specifics on support for vital mental health, child welfare, and other vital programs when the budget book comes out next week. Here’s hoping that as a state we do what’s necessary to make real progress.

December 18, 2024

Governor Hochul and her team are working on next year’s New York State budget, and it’s critical that Human Services funding is prioritized in her budget proposal in January. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Human Services receive small increases in the budget—but they’ve never met the growing needs of our sector.

These increases have been appreciated, but they haven’t even kept up with rising costs. We’ve done the math, and the numbers show that we’ve fallen 7.8% further behind in recent years. And we can’t fall any further behind. We need to grow to meet the growing needs of our community.

How do we make things grow? By investing in them. That’s why we’re calling on our leaders to take action We’re asking them to invest in us:

Invest 7.8% in Human Services.

Demand for human services that help with critical challenges like mental health, child welfare, substance abuse recovery, domestic violence, hunger, and homelessness continues to skyrocket. At the same time, our workforce is shrinking due to low wages, difficult responsibilities and the cost of inflation. Agencies are experiencing 30% turnover rates and have thousands of unfilled jobs. 

In addition, 60% of employees in the sector work in jobs with an average salary of $36,000/yr. Per federal guidelines, the poverty level for a household size of 2 is $37,814. So, if you’re a single parent with one child, you’re basically at the poverty level while providing life-saving services to vulnerable New Yorkers.

Let’s make a real impact. Let’s speak with one voice and urge the governor to stand up for vulnerable New Yorkers and the workforce that stands ready to help them when they need it most. Let’s take action.

How can you help? Stand up and be heard. Call the governor’s office at 518.474.8390 and tell her you support a 7.8% investment in Human Services!