For the first time ever, children under 4 living in New York could be eligible for the Empire State Child Credit.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed expanding this program in his State Budget address this Tuesday.

Currently children over the age of 4 are eligible for the Empire State Child Credit.

When this credit was originally approved, advocates and groups like the Fiscal Policy Institute were concerned, writing that "families with young children face poverty at greater rates than other families. In fact, the birth of a child is the leading trigger of 'poverty spells' experienced by families."

As the law stands now, families with children between the ages of 4 and 16 are entitled to a child credit in New York for either a $100 or 33 percent of the federal tax rate pre-2018, which saw the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Cuomo's proposal would expand this credit to include children age 0-3 for families that make less than $50,000. If approved by the legislature, it would provide around $400 for 400,00 families across the state.

It would take an additional $157 million in the state budget to expand the Empire State Child Tax Credit.