$1800 are on the way for New York families who are expecting a baby (either natural or adopted) in this fiscal year 2025–2026. It was just confirmed by Governor Kathy Hochul and it is called the BABY Benefit. A one-time payment of $1800 so that your child’s first year of life is not so difficult.
Inflation, prices… Everything is getting more expensive, and many couples are considering moving because New York is one of the most expensive states to raise a child, so this aims to change that and make this state the best place to start a family.
BABY Benefit
As we said, everything keeps getting more expensive, and with inflation even more so. Rent, food, electricity and gas bills… And salaries are becoming more precarious. Many families don’t even consider having a baby (because they see it as “one more expense”), and for others, it is simply impossible.
So, the BABY Benefit aims to be a payment that helps ease the expenses of a baby’s first year of life, to help pay for food, diapers, and care. It’s not much, we know, but it’s something to be thankful for.
And the best part is that it does not replace other existing aids, such as the child tax credit, which can add up to $1,000 per child under 4 years old and $500 for those between 4 and 16.
Who can receive it
The main requirement is simple: having had or adopted a baby between 2025 and 2026, living in the state of New York, and being enrolled in a state public assistance program (such as SNAP or Medicaid).
Payments will be made automatically to the accounts linked to assistance programs, and funds will begin to be distributed starting in the second quarter of 2026 when the state budget is activated.
The Department of Social Services will manage the program and will provide a web portal to verify that each family is eligible.
Necessary for families
The reality is that raising a baby is expensive. In New York, even more so, more than $14,000 during the first year, and the number keeps rising.
That is why this program seeks to recognize that motherhood and fatherhood should not be a luxury for anyone, offering a small relief and encouraging birth rates.
An incentive to stay
Many experts believe that this payment could lead many young families to move from other states to have their children in New York. After all, having a child is expensive anywhere, so New York could become the first choice for many families.
“We want to build a culture of care, where having a child is not a source of anxiety, but of hope.”
Take note!
The BABY Benefit will be one of the most important social measures in the 2026 budget. To access it, you only need to be a New Yorker and have a child in the next year.
However, please remember that motherhood should be desired; it is something for life! $1,800 will not change the world… but it can change, even just a little, the beginning of a new life!