Maxine Thomas received her first child tax credit payment in the spring of 2021. she was skeptical.
“I never really thought I’d get it for whatever reason,” she said.
Thomas is a single mother of five children. She works full time at a food bank in Indianapolis.
Temporary expansion of child tax credit american rescue plan For the first time, we made payments available to low-income and non-income households, increasing the amount offered. Families can receive $250 per month for each child aged 6 through her 17, and $300 per month for each child under the age of 6.
With schools closed due to the pandemic, Thomas’ kids were home every day, driving up food and other bill costs. So the payment was made in a timely manner. Thomas a month he received $1,000. This is a $250 credit for each child at home.
“The child tax credit could fill many economic gaps,” she said. “Since we’ve been home the whole time, we’ve only been able to pay our ever-increasing utility bills and help keep food at home.”
Critics of the expanded child tax credit warned the move would discourage work, but data show it had the opposite effect. It has helped more people invest in their own businesses, work, pay off debt, and go back to school.
About 70% of families used credit for everyday expenses such as food and utilities. According to research From the Brookings Institution. Temporary expansion has lifted 3.7 million children out of poverty as of December 2021.
When the extended child tax credit was abolished in January of this year, Child poverty soars Also.
Many states, including Indiana, are taking steps. tighten abortion lawsreignited conversations about how best to support families and babies. is listed.
Many Families Helped Are Suffering AgainExpanding child tax credits will reduce food insecurity by 26% in 2021, according to the Alison Bovel Amonwho has studied the problem.
“Food insecurity not only impacts a child’s physical health and physical growth, but also impacts cognitive development, concentration and performance in school, as well as their ability to reach their highest potential. ,” said Bovell-Ammon, Director of Policy and Communications for Children’s Healthwatch. at the Boston Medical Center. “Even a short-term loss of access to food can have lasting effects on a child’s ability to grow and stay healthy.”
These disruptions can adversely affect outcomes throughout life.
Food insecurity and insecurity disproportionately burden black and Latino families, as well as adult families living alone. Surveys show that those same populations were hit hardest earlier this year when their child tax credit payments expired, Bovell-Ammon said.
For Thomas, a mother of five children, life became more difficult as those payments expired. Like when her sons came back to school and needed new clothes, she had to start making sacrifices.
“Everyone seemed to sprout at the same time,” Thomas said. “I felt it when it was kind of hard to juggle who to go buy new shoes for.”
Another 3.7 million children fell into poverty the month after the credits expired.of Child poverty rate rises It increased from 12% in December 2021 to 17% in January 2022. study Graduated from Boston University School of Public Health.
This is a big reason why many advocate reviving credits and making them permanent. By doing so, he said, people would be able to lift themselves out of cyclical poverty. David PlastererSenior Policy Associate at Results, a national advocacy group that supports child tax credits.
“When you’re going through poverty, unemployment is pretty common. You get a job and you think, ‘Okay, this is going to be a job.’ Then you get fired because you can’t go to work because your car breaks down, you lose your home, your child gets sick,” Plasterer said.
A permanent child tax credit can help people overcome these obstacles to stable employment.
“This allows families to be more financially stable and more profitable in the long run,” says Plasterer.
Who will benefit from the credit
For years, child tax credits have been available to families who meet income and other requirements.
Families are earning without expanded child tax credits Less than $2,500 per year Not eligible. Anyone earning more than her $2,500 a year is eligible to receive a few cents on any additional income. Up to $2,000 per child under the age of 16 for a family with an annual income of $30,000 or more for her. Credits will be phased out once family income levels exceed $200,000 annually for single filers and $400,000 annually for joint filers.
These income requirements are based on the idea that people can work more and earn more if they have a qualifying threshold.
The temporary expansion of the child tax credit in 2021 made the full tax credit available to low-income and non-income households for the first time.Without extension, estimated 27 million children Their family does not earn enough and is excluded from the full child tax credit.
This is the exact opposite of what it should be, Prasterer said. Minimum wage families are entitled to the lowest amount of money, and often none at all.
“We have a couple who make $400,000 a year and enjoy the full value of their credit,” says Plasterer. “And there are single parents who work part-time and earn $15,000 a year.”
“So you basically have to get out of poverty before you can qualify for the child tax credit, which makes absolutely no sense,” he said.
Many advocates for a permanent expansion of the child tax credit program, including Plasterer, say work and income requirements unfairly hurt children and families.
“There are many people in this country who are helping children who are unable to work for a variety of reasons,” said Children’s HealthWatch researcher Bovell-Ammon. “Or they’re sewing between jobs or struggling to work but this incredible work that has been shown to have a significant impact on children’s ability to meet their basic needs.” Children should not be punished by excluding them from such benefits.”
What is being done to support vulnerable families in an age of anti-abortion?
Many Indiana legislators who voted for abortion bans (currently on hold due to legal issues) also say they want more abortions. mom and baby support.
Rep. Sharon Negele (R-Attica) is a leader in Indiana’s efforts to financially support mothers and families. She says this has become especially important. A near-total ban on abortionsigned the law she upheld.
“I don’t think you can forbid anything without making sure all the other variables are in place. So we tried this last special session, but it’s not perfect. I didn’t,” she said.
Negele said the next legislative session will seek more support for mothers and families, including making birth control more accessible and childcare more affordable. He did not say whether he would support a permanent child tax credit.
“If we want to encourage people to have babies, we need to make them as affordable and perhaps incentivized as possible,” Negele said. We know that is important, and we have to make sure everyone has the right opportunity.”
In addition to her full-time job at a food bank, Maxine Thomas also works with Experts on Poverty. This support group employs people who have first-hand experience with federal safety net initiatives such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Tax Credit Program.
Thomas spoke about his experience with both legislators and community members. She wants legislators to make the credit permanent with no job or income requirements.
“I think it takes away the human power of humanity to make provisions about who is deemed eligible or good enough to receive these kinds of credits or reimbursements,” Thomas said. “i know that [the credit] Lifting families and children out of poverty should be the ultimate goal. ”
a some states States, including California, New Jersey, and New Mexico, have introduced or expanded state child tax credits in the past year. In Indiana, talks are taking place between lawmakers and supporters, but they are still in the early stages.
Parents who have not received their 2021 child tax credit payments can claim online. getctc.org Until November 15th.
This article was written with the Indianapolis Recorder side effects public media — Public Health News Initiative under WFYI. Sydney Dauphinais is an economic stocks reporter for WFYI. Follow her on her Twitter. @syddauphinais.
