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Congress must tackle child poverty head on and expand the Child Tax Credit

The Census Bureau just released national poverty, income, and insurance data for 2023. It’s important to understand income and health insurance trends, but it’s especially important now since Congress will take up major tax legislation in 2025.

One thing we know for sure is that when the Child Tax Credit (CTC) was expanded in 2021, child poverty decreased by 46% overall, with Black and Hispanic/Latino child poverty falling by 6.3 percentage points in each community, impacting 716,000 Black children and 1.2 million Hispanic children. The new data shows that in 2023, the CTC lifted 2.4 million people above the federal poverty line―while important, falling far short of the 5.4 million lifted above the federal poverty line in 2021 by expanded monthly Child Tax Credit payments that included all children in low-income families.

Click here to send a direct message to Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit today.

Many people are facing food and housing insecurity, challenges with high child care costs, and dealing with other hardships that make it harder to make ends meet. Expanding the Child Tax Credit fixes a major flaw in current law: over 18 million children and their families are excluded from the full credit because their parents’ income is too low.

You read that right. Families where a parent can’t work due to illness or being laid off, cannot qualify for the Child Tax Credit at all. And many parents who work at low wages cannot get the full CTC. A single parent earning $15,000 a year and who has two children, will receive less than a family with a parent who has a higher paying job. This is a flaw that does nothing but exacerbate inequity and accelerate the racial wealth gap.

Instead of cutting investments in key programs and services, Congress must prioritize funding for human needs and that means passing an expanded Child Tax Credit that reaches the very poorest households.

Click here to send a direct message to Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit today.

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Webinar: How to Use Upcoming Poverty, Income, and Health Insurance Data

September 5 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

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In an election year, it’s especially important to assess where we’ve made progress, and what’s held us back.

Please join us on Thursday, September 5th, at 1 pm ET, for a webinar to prepare you for the annual Census Bureau release of state and local poverty, income, and health insurance data.

The Census Bureau will release national poverty, income, and health insurance data on September 10, followed by state and local data on these and many other topics from the American Community Survey on September 12.

Every year, it’s important to understand income and health insurance trends – but it’s especially important now, because the nation experienced a dramatic reduction in child poverty as a result of the 2021 Child Tax Credit, only to see poverty surge after the CTC was allowed to expire. What has happened since? Have the Biden Administration’s vigorous efforts to promote Affordable Care Act health insurance, along with more generous premium tax credits, resulted in fewer uninsured people?

We’ll help you get ready to find and use the information coming out starting September 10 – with insightful analyses about poverty and health coverage, and practical instructions on how to navigate the Census Bureau’s website – so you can get the state/local data you need, and know how to find breakdowns by age, race, and ethnicity, and how to show trends over time.

List of speakers:

  • Christopher Wimer, Director of the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at the Columbia University School of Social Work
  • Stan Dorn, Director, Health Policy Project, UnidosUS -Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs
  • Ellen Teller, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), Moderator

If you are interested in the webinar but cannot join us, please register anyway. All registrants will receive the recording, slides, and follow-up information. We welcome you to forward this to other advocates who may be interested.

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Date:
September 5
Time:
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Event Categories:
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Website:
https://youtu.be/hOlLKdbMsy8
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Organizer

Coalition on Human Needs