Important Takeaways:

• What’s Behind the Spike in Child Poverty in the U.S.
• An uptick in the number of children living in poverty had been widely expected, because of the expiration of the enhanced version of Child Tax Credit program (CTC) that had been instituted in July 2021 as a means of defraying the financial burden that the stay-at-home measures had imposed on parents. The CTC gave parents a historically high yearly tax credit of up to $3,600 per child, depending on age, which was often paid upfront monthly and did not have to be paid back if the parents’ tax bill didn’t reach a certain amount.
• While an increase was expected, advocates for children were surprised by the size of the jump and seized on the moment to trumpet the effectiveness of the policy and to mourn its expiration at the end of 2021, after Congress failed to extend the CTC expansion. “This data once again highlights that poverty in our country isn’t a personal failing, but rather a policy choice,” said Melissa Boteach, vice president of income security at the National Women’s Law Center in a statement. “Lawmakers have the power to lift millions of women and children out of poverty if they would just choose to prioritize families over their wealthy donors. We know what works.”
• Other policy advisory organizations, however, worried that the benefits were too generous and would provide a disincentive for parents to work and thus push children further into poverty.

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