Who Cares for New York? Wages, Human Service Workers, and the Affordability

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New York is at an inflection point. As the affordability crisis deepens, City and State policymakers have increasingly turned to the nonprofit human services sector to deliver solutions, from childcare to home health care. Yet the workers powering these programs remain among the most severely underpaid.

A recent analysis from the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance (ISLG) found that one in nine New York employees work in a human services-related industry, and that 80% earn under $40,000 a year—roughly $20,000 below the cost of living. The consequences are cascading: financially precarious families, reduced economic activity in communities, and thinning pipelines into critical care fields the city and state are counting on to grow.

Raising the wage floor for these workers presents a compelling policy opportunity. Evidence suggests that doing so could lower the statewide poverty rate, stimulate local economies, and strengthen the services that New Yorkers rely on most.

Hosted by CUNY ISLG, this panel (speakers TBD) brings together policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and researchers to examine what it would take — and what it would mean — to raise wages for New York's lowest-paid human services workers: the tradeoffs, the mechanisms, and the path forward.

Timing Note: Complimentary continental breakfast will be served in the lobby from 9-10 am. The panel will begin at 10 am and last until 11:30 am.

Info: Complimentary bagels, pastries, fruit, coffee, and other continental breakfast items will be provided in the reception hall lobby prior to the talk.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Elebash Recital Hall, The Graduate Center, 365 5th Avenue, New York, United States

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