What recent data and studies have revealed is that the expanded Child Tax Credits approved last spring under President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan are appearing to be doing a great job in feeding the country’s hungriest families and lifting millions of children out of poverty.

In light of this success, the enhanced credits have been found to be one of the programs that made the cut as Democrats race toward an agreement over a framework for their social spending plan. According to the $1.75 trillion proposal, there will be enough money set aside to ensure that nearly forty million families will continue to receive the monthly direct payments for at least another year.

However, the current proposal falls far short of what many Democrats had in mind—namely making the Child Tax Credit permanent. And Biden, in a previous proposal, aimed to continue the program at least through the year 2025.

Direct Cash to Parents

Due to the president’s ambitious stimulus bill, eligible parents and guardians, beginning in July, have been able to receive as much as $3,600 per year for a child under the age of six and up to $3,000 for children between ages six and seventeen.

Broken down, this means that a $250 or a $300 payment for each child will be direct deposited each month through the end of the year. In addition, parents can claim the other half of the total payments as a refund come next tax season.

Improving Lives

According to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, because of the expanded credits, the number of adults living in households with children that reported not having enough to eat has plummeted by 3.3 million—a total reduction of about one-third.

“Congress should make it a top priority to extend the monthly payments and ensure that the full credit remains permanently available to children in families with the lowest incomes,” wrote Claire Zippel, senior research analyst at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

A separate report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation showed that a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit could potentially lift more than four million children out of poverty.

“Every child needs food, health care, and safe and stable housing. Millions of households with children already lacked these necessities before the pandemic,” the report noted.

“To continue on progress already made on recovery, the foundation recommends: making the expansion of the federal child tax credit permanent,” it added.

Another study released by the Urban Institute revealed that continuing the expanded credits beyond this year has the potential to slash child poverty to about 8.4 percent from 14.2 percent—which would represent a massive 40 percent drop. Furthermore, child poverty could be cut by 50 percent or more in eleven states.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters