The Role of Government Transfers in the Child Poverty Gap by Race and Ethnicity: A Focus on Black, Latino, and White Children
This brief provides insights into the impact of government assistance on shaping racial and ethnic inequities in child poverty. It provides an update to a prior analysis of the Black-White child poverty gap and introduces new findings on the Latino-White child poverty gap.
The Differential Effects of Monthly & Lump-Sum Child Tax Credit Payments on Food & Housing Hardship
This study investigates the effects of the monthly and the lump-sum expanded Child Tax Credit payments on food and housing hardship in the United States. Families were more likely to use the monthly benefits to purchase food, but the lump-sum benefits to catch up on rent payments.
The Effectiveness of the Food Stamp Program at Reducing Differences in the Intergenerational Persistence of Poverty
This working paper, released by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, investigates the effects of food assistance on racial disparities in the intergenerational persistence of poverty. Income transfers that reduce poverty during childhood can contribute to reduced poverty in adulthood and also reduce racial gaps.
The Role of Government Transfers in the Black-White Child Poverty Gap
This policy brief examines the role of government transfers and tax credits in closing the Black-White child poverty gap. Government transfers and tax credits are effective in raising incomes for Black children in poverty, yet are entirely ineffective in closing the Black-White child poverty gap.
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 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.
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.
Limiting States’ Ability to Waive Federal SNAP Work Requirements: A Closer Look at the Potential Implications
A proposed rule change to the food stamp (SNAP) program would alter the way in which states can exempt local areas from federal work requirements by restricting waivers to those areas with a local unemployment rate of 7 percent or higher. We find that the labor market conditions faced by those most likely to be subject to work requirements are substantially worse than the 7-percent floor.
Recent Trends in Food Stamp Usage and Implications for Increased Work Requirements
Proponents of the efforts to expand SNAP work requirements argue that “work-capable” adults are increasingly taking up SNAP benefits while working less. We find that “work-capable” adults do not represent a growing segment of the SNAP caseload and a majority of “work-capable” adults who receive SNAP are working during the year that they receive benefits.