Advocates for Children of New York works on behalf of children who are at greatest risk for school-based discrimination and/or academic failure due to poverty, disability, race, ethnicity, immigrant or English Language Learner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, or involvement in the foster care or juvenile justice systems.
Find out more here
Need Help?
Call AFC's Education Helpline
(866) 427-6033
Monday to Thursday
10 am to 4 pm
Donate Now
Help Advocates for Children assist more New York City students!
Stay connected
Sign up for AFC's email updates and find other ways to take action.
Spotlight
New Analysis Shows Thousands of Young Children with Developmental Delays Missed Out on Time-Sensitive Services during COVID-19
01.15.2021 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) released a new data brief, Delayed Interventions: Early Indicators of the Pandemic’s Impact on Infants and Toddlers, showing a steep decline during the COVID-19 pandemic in the number of infants and toddlers referred to the New York City Early Intervention (EI) program to address... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on the Impact of COVID-19 on Child Care
12.16.2020 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York testified before the City Council Committee on Education and Committee on Women and Gender Equity about the related issues of a shortage of preschool special education programs, and the problem of Learning Bridges child care programs excluding children with disabilities. Read our testimony [... Continue reading
New Data Show Number of NYC Students who are Homeless Topped 100,000 for Fifth Consecutive Year
12.03.2020 | Today, the New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students (NYS-TEACHS), a project of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), posted new data showing that more than 111,000 New York City students—approximately one in ten children enrolled in district or charter schools—were identified as homeless... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on Foster Care Task Force Progress
11.24.2020 | Today, AFC is testifing before the New York City Council Committee on General Welfare on the City’s progress toward advancing the recommendations of the Interagency Foster Care Task Force, including the three recommendations focused specifically on education, and the need for DOE staff focused on the unique needs of this population.... Continue reading
AFC in the News
NYC sees steep drop in babies and toddlers with disabilities getting services during pandemic
01.15.2021 | Chalkbeat NY | “Infants and toddlers cannot afford to wait for critically important Early Intervention services, said Kim Sweet, the executive director of Advocates for Children, the advocacy group that conducted the analysis. “The State and City need to take quick action to ensure children with developmental delays and disabilities... Continue reading
NYPD disproportionately restrains students of color during crises in City schools, agency data shows
01.01.2021 | Medium | Dawn Yuster and her organization, Advocates for Children of New York, are calling for a mental health continuum to be established in schools with high rates of child-in-crisis cases. This model was developed by the Mayor’s Leadership Team on School Climate in 2016, who urged the city to adopt it. Last year, the City Council... Continue reading
NYC presents a roadmap to help students fill COVID learning gaps
12.10.2020 | Chalkbeat NY | “This is a plan to address some of the problems with remote learning, which is important, but it’s not a plan for education recovery,” said Kim Sweet who heads Advocates for Children, which spearheaded the class-action suit. “The city needs a systemic approach for targeting evidence-based support and resources to... Continue reading
Internet access still lacking for city’s homeless students
12.04.2020 | City & State | In the last school year, more than 111,000 New York City students experienced homelessness – including nearly 33,000 who lived in city shelters and roughly 73,000 who “doubled up” in temporary housing situations, according to a new report from the education nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York. And even... Continue reading