Research Roundup of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: The First 6 Months
Since the introduction of the first monthly Child Tax Credit payment in July 2021, a continuous stream of research has emerged tracking the impact of this new policy on the lives of children and their families. This round up compiles the range of publicly available information on what we know so far.
November Child Tax Credit payment kept 3.8 million children from poverty
According to our latest projections, the expanded Child Tax Credit kept 3.8 million children from poverty with its fifth monthly payment in November 2021.
Support for Paid Family Leave among Small Employers Increases during the Covid-19 Pandemic
The United States is one of the few countries that does not guarantee paid family leave to workers nationwide. We surveyed small firms in New York and New Jersey before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and found high support for state paid family leave programs in 2019 that rose substantially over time, particularly among firms who used it.
October Child Tax Credit payment kept 3.6 million children from poverty
According to our latest projections, the expanded Child Tax Credit kept 3.6 million children from poverty with its fourth monthly payment in October 2021.
Expanded Child Tax Credit continues to keep millions of children from poverty in September
According to our latest projections, the expanded Child Tax Credit kept 3.4 million children from poverty with its third monthly payment in September 2021.
Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit on Employment Outcomes
To evaluate the actual employment effects of the expanded CTC, we use two large national datasets to investigate whether there is any evidence that the initial child payments led to reductions in employment. Our analyses do not support claims that the CTC has negative employment effects.
Expanded Child Tax Credit Leads to Further Decline in Child Poverty Rates in August 2021
According to our latest projections, the child poverty rate declined from 11.9 percent in July 2021 (the month featuring the first CTC payment) to 11.5 percent in August 2021. Without the CTC, the monthly child poverty rate in August 2021 would have been 16.2 percent.
Trends in the Economic Wellbeing of Unmarried-Parent Families with Children: New Estimates Using an Improved Measure of Poverty
We re-assess long-term trends in poverty for children in single parent or cohabiting couple families. While single-mother families have the highest poverty rates among families both historically and today, the historical SPM reveals large declines in their poverty rates over time.
A Lifetime’s Worth of Benefits: The Effects of Affordable, High-quality Child Care on Family Income, the Gender Earnings Gap, and Women’s Retirement Security
CPSP and the National Women’s Law Center demonstrate how investing in child care is an investment in women’s lifetime economic security. Robert Paul Hartley, Columbia School of Social Work faculty affiliate of CPSP, provides evidence that investing in high-quality and affordable child care support for families could increase women’s lifetime earnings and retirement savings.
The Initial Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit on Material Hardship
In this working paper, we investigate the initial impact of the monthly Child Tax Credit payments on material hardship. Even with imperfect coverage, we find that the first monthly CTC payments strongly reduced food insufficiency among low-income households with children.
Monthly Poverty Rates among Children after Expansion of the Child Tax Credit
This policy brief discusses the estimated impact of the expanded Child Tax Credit on the monthly poverty rate for July 2021 in the United States. Monthly poverty fell from 15.8 percent in June to 11.9 percent in July, representing a decline of 3 million children living in poverty. This drop in child poverty is primarily due to the first payment of the expanded Child Tax Credit.
The Anti-Poverty Impacts of Expanding Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers
This fact sheet presents estimates of the anti-poverty impacts that expanding the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program could have if the program were transformed so that all households eligible for a voucher would receive one. The Section 8 voucher program is the nation’s largest form of rental assistance, but only about a quarter of households that are eligible for the vouchers receive the benefit.
State Fact Sheets: Policy Options to Address Youth and Young Adult Poverty
We explore the anti-poverty effects of federal policy options in the areas of basic needs, family tax, and economic opportunity for youth and young adults. We break out state-level results across three age groups: ages 14 to 17, ages 18 to 24, and the whole youth and young adult population (ages 14 to 24), as well as by racial and ethnic groups.
The Potential Poverty Reduction Effect of the American Families Plan
We find the proposed American Families Plan–which continues a set of pandemic-era supports, with additional anti-poverty policies–could reduce the national poverty rate in 2022 by nearly one-quarter and child poverty by nearly half.
The Impact of Paid Family Leave on Employers: Evidence from New York
We surveyed New York and Pennsylvania firms to study the impacts of New York's 2018 Paid Family Leave policy on employer outcomes. We find that Paid Family Leave leads to an improvement in employers' rating of their ease of handling long employee absences.
The Potential Poverty Reduction Effect of the American Rescue Plan
We find that an economic relief package with an expanded Child Tax Credit, nutrition assistance, unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, and more could cut child poverty by more than half in 2021.
The Costs and Benefits of Expanding the Empire State Child Tax Credit in New York City
Research finds that cash and near-cash benefits increase children’s health, education, and future earnings while also decreasing costs with respect to health, child protection, and criminal justice. We find that expanding the Empire State Tax Credit to $1,000 per child for all children in New York City under 17, with the exception of high-income families, would cost about $1.1 billion and would generate about $9.8 billion in benefits to society.
The Costs and Benefits of Expanding the Empire State Child Tax Credit
Research finds that cash and near-cash benefits increase children’s health, education, and future earnings while also decreasing costs with respect to health, child protection, and criminal justice. We find that expanding the Empire State Tax Credit to $1,000 per child for all children in New York State under 17, with the exception of high-income families, would cost about $2.7 billion and would generate about $26.2 billion in benefits to society.
U.S. Monthly Poverty Rate Declines to 13.2% in January 2021
Using our monthly poverty framework, we find that the December 2020 COVID-19 economic relief package—continuing enhanced unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, and increased SNAP benefits—kept 13 million individuals from poverty in January 2021.
A Poverty Reduction Analysis of the American Family Act
This supplemental fact sheet provides an analysis of poverty reduction under the American Family Act by children's age, children's race and ethnicity, children's family characteristics, as well as state-level estimates.