Last week’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas bars the government from approving applications from future DACA applicants. It does not, however, immediately affect nearly 650,000 who currently have DACA protection. Still: it highlights the legal uncertainty facing these individuals, many of whom do not even remember their original country because they left it at such an early age. And it is a stark reminder that the only solution for DACA recipients – and others such as Temporary Protected Status holders, farm workers, and other essential workers – is immigration reform in Congress.
Archives: Voices
CHN’s Podcast Episode 3: How to Ensure Equity Before and After Birth for All Families? Investments in Paid Leave and Child Care – A Conversation with Advocate Joy Spencer.
CHN’s latest Voices for Human Needs Podcast discusses the investments in paid leave and child care with advocate Joy Spencer, the Executive Director of Equity Before Birth, a member of MomsRising, and a single mother of a three-year-old. During our conversation, Joy shares how she is channeling her lived experiences as a working mother to advocate on behalf of improving health outcomes for Black mothers and their children in addition to expanding access to affordable child care options and paid leave opportunities for all working parents.
Breaking: The CTC expansion has arrived, and there is much to celebrate
During the recent congressional recess, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) traversed his state, speaking with families about the new Child Tax Credit. A mother told Brown that because she now will be able to afford child care, she is returning to work full time. Another mother said she is going to save for her daughter’s future education. A father said he is sending his boy to summer camp for the first time ever. And another parent said their daughter will now be able to play fast-pitch softball because the family can afford to purchase the equipment, for the first time.
Budget stabilizer: Child Tax Credit payments arrive for Wisconsin families
Advocates for working families in Wisconsin say it goes beyond cutting poverty rates. They say it will remove a lot of monthly budget pressure for scores of households. The tax credit, expanded under the American Rescue Plan, includes monthly payments of $250 to $300 for each child through the end of the year. The Coalition on Human Needs said nearly 1.2 million Wisconsin children will benefit from the overall expansion, and 46,000 kids will be lifted out of poverty. But advocates warn it’s just a temporary increase, and there are repeated calls to make it permanent.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship July 9, 2021
The door-to-door-vaccination-drive edition. As of Thursday, 605,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. The CDC estimates that the more dangerous Delta variant now makes up a majority of new cases in the U.S. 67.1 percent of adults have at least one vaccine dose; 58.3 percent are fully vaccinated. The U.S. has been averaging fewer than 15,000 new cases a day for nearly a month. In recent days, however, the average number of new cases has started to trend slightly upward, driven largely by localized outbreaks in places with low vaccination rates, including parts of Missouri, Arkansas, and Nevada.
Millions of evictions are coming. And rental assistance can’t arrive soon enough.
With a federal moratorium set to expire in a matter of weeks, the Biden Administration, state and local officials, and housing advocates are scrambling to avoid what could soon be the biggest eviction crisis in U.S. history. Although the order provided a certain amount of protection for a time, the moratorium did nothing to help renters whose accumulated debt has grown larger and larger during the pandemic. Estimates vary as to how many American households are behind on their rent, but most experts put the number somewhere between 8 million and 13 million. Many of the estimated 30 million people living in these households will be at risk of eviction in a few short weeks.
New report: Good news for America’s kids – but with one major caveat
The new Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Book is out and there is good news and bad news – and a strong recommendation that Congress make the Child Tax Credit expansion permanent. This year’s report found that between 2010 and 2019, children improved nationally in 11 out of 16 areas, essentially stayed the same in four areas, and fell further behind in one area – low birth weights. But the report comes with a major, fundamental caveat: the Foundation warns that nearly a decade of progress after the Great Recession could be erased by the COVID-19 pandemic unless policymakers act boldly to sustain the beginnings of a recovery.
CHN’s Podcast Episode 2: A Critical Moment to Reduce Child Poverty.
In our second episode of the Voices for Human Needs Podcast, hear from national policy advocates about what is at stake for children and families, the importance of making the Child Tax Credit expansion permanent, and actions you can take to join the fight to reduce child poverty across the country.
Through the air and on the ground, the campaign for Child Tax Credit awareness takes off
Earlier this week, social media activists, advocates for children and families with low incomes, religious leaders, local and state governments, elected officials and even a few famous celebrities joined the White House in a major, more-or-less coordinated push to publicize the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
CHN: Bipartisan plan on infrastructure should advance – but so should once-in-a-generation investments
“President Biden did the nation a vital service in proposing his American Jobs and Families Plans. Taken together these two plans represent a comprehensive approach to setting our nation on a course of sustainable, shared economic progress. A narrow approach that repairs and modernizes our physical infrastructure without strengthening our people’s health and economic security is not sufficient. It will not provide the resources to enable parents to raise their children out of poverty, for young and older adults to be able to secure good jobs, and for retirees and people with disabilities to be able to live in their communities with the care they need. Nor will it sufficiently address pernicious inequities by race, immigrant status, and income.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship June 25, 2021
The Tale of Two Americas edition. Between 2018 and 2020, COVID-19 forced an unprecedented drop in life expectancy in the U.S. For non-Hispanic whites, the drop was 1.36 years. For Hispanics, it was 3.88 years; the decline was 3.25 years for non-Hispanic Blacks. Still, although the pace of vaccinations for Blacks and Hispanics is improving, in the 40 states keeping records by race, only 33 percent of Blacks and 38 percent of Hispanics have at least one dose, compared to 46 percent of whites.
Monday, June 21 is Child Tax Credit Awareness Day
Beginning July 15, most families with children will begin receiving monthly installments of the newly expanded Child Tax Credit. Families will receive $250 per month for each child age 6 through 17 and $300 per month for children younger than 6. In order to publicize the expansion – and ensure that hard-to-reach families who did not previously file tax forms receive it – the Biden Administration has designated this coming Monday, June 21 – as Child Tax Credit Awareness Day.