New York families with low to moderate incomes will receive financial assistance by the end of next month through the state's child tax credit program, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday.
Hochul, speaking at the Capitol on Tuesday morning, said that approximately $350 million in direct financial assistance would be distributed, with more than a million families in the state receiving a check.
A press release from the governor's office indicated families will get a supplemental payment of up to $330 per child through the Empire State Child Credit program.
"Child care has gone up 20%. And I think it's not a news flash that wages have not kept up with that," Hochul said. "The strain on working families is too much, and we're losing families who are going elsewhere where they don't have the same challenges, and that actually threatens New York state's long-term viability."
The payments going out over the next month are, according to the state, in addition to the 2023 tax credit that families already received. The program was expanded last year to include children younger than 4 years old, which covered 600,000 more children in New York.
"It's not just making life livable in New York, it's making it affordable," Hochul said.