CACF's Statement on the FY 2026 NYC Budget
The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) issued the following statement on Monday, July 7, 2025 on behalf of its over 90 AAPI-led and -serving member organizations in response to last week’s vote by New York City Council on the New York City Budget:
CACF, working alongside our Asian American Student Advocacy Project (ASAP) Youth Leaders and members of our 18% and Growing Campaign, have spent months advocating for a NYC Budget that is fair, equitable, and supportive of the City’s marginalized communities.
This year’s budget fight was challenging as we navigated city, state, and federal changes. We advocated for funding for programs that support new immigrants, youth, elder adults, and working class people all over New York City. With multiple budget cuts over the years, our communities fought for resources and services that were constantly being threatened or reduced. Due to the strong advocacy of CACF’s 18% and Growing Campaign through testimonies, meetings, roundtables, and rallies, we are grateful to see sustained funding to the initiatives championed by CACF.
However, we are disappointed in the lack of a much-needed enhancement to Access Health NYC. In a time when the federal administration is planning to make devastating changes impacting the health of New Yorkers, New York City Council had the opportunity to invest in programs to support hard to reach communities in accessing healthcare and coverage, and they did not enhance this critical initiative.
Below are the 18% and Growing campaign’s Initiative Allocations for Fiscal Year 2026:
$5.06 million to the AAPI Community Support Initiative, which supports AAPI-led and -serving community-based organizations who are providing life-affirming, linguistically accessible services
$3.7 million to the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund, a City Council-funded initiative that provides capacity-building support to Black, Latino, and Asian American Pacific Islander-led nonprofits
$3.62 million to Access Health NYC, a city-wide initiative that funds community-based organizations (CBOs) to provide education, outreach, and assistance to all New Yorkers on how to access health care and coverage
Additionally, CACF is proud to support campaigns fighting for budget equity; these includes the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding (CEEF) and The People’s Plan. We stand by the goals of these campaigns and are proud that CEEF and People’s Plan have won the following and more:
$93.3 million to sustain education programs at risk of being rolled back or eliminated as soon as July 2025 and to protect schools and education budgets from cuts
$222 million to recommit to and restore universal 3K, Pre-K and childcare with funding for outreach, and to ensure salary parity and timely payments for early childhood workers
$6.3 million to the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence
$4.8 million: Fund microgrants
$1.5 million: Home+ provider support to assist survivors
$33.25 million to ensure continuity of services and help to support immigrants in legal defense
In addition to these programs, new education investments in the adopted budget include $10 million for infant/toddler (children ages 0-2) seats in high-need communities, $70 million for preschool special education services and evaluations, and $2.9 million for preschool inclusion specialists.
We are excited that the City Council and the Mayor have put forth a plan that is a step toward true budget equity. CACF, alongside our coalition partners, will continue to fight for the needs of all marginalized communities, including the AAPI New Yorkers that make up 18% of the city population. We will continue to uplift the importance of funding critical, life affirming initiatives for all New Yorkers in the coming years.
For more information, please email Lakshmi Gandhi, CACF’s Senior Communications Coordinator, at lgandhi@cacf.org.
