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We learned recently that improvements to the Child Tax Credit enacted in 2021 through the American Rescue Plan Act nearly cut our child poverty rate in half last year, leading to the lowest child poverty rate on record in the United States. This dramatic result meant that households had more money to provide food, clothing, and diapers for their children. It meant more money for child care, gas, and car repairs that helped parents get to work. It meant more money for educational resources, music or soccer lessons, or a trip to the zoo.

It also meant reduced stress for many parents and caretakers, who reported that it gave them some breathing room, relieving them from the constant fear and distraction of how to meet the basic needs of their children.

Research out of the University of Washington suggests that this collective impact of tax credits for families may lead to a reduction in child maltreatment reports. Following receipt of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit for the 2015-2018 tax seasons, new findings show a 5% decline in reports of maltreatment in the five weeks after distribution for each additional $1,000 that families received in refunds.

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The United States has historically had a higher level of child poverty than many other wealthy countries because we have failed to invest in our children. We spend much less than other countries on cash benefits for children, which have a bigger impact on reducing child poverty than any other mechanism.

This dismal trend in child poverty changed in 2021 when Congress made significant improvements to the Child Tax Credit. Lawmakers substantially increased the amount of the credit, especially for families with the biggest barriers to financial stability, who previously were excluded from accessing a full or even partial credit. Families with children were able to receive the credit monthly for the first half of 2021, helping them to meet monthly bills. These improvements led to the lowest U.S. child poverty rate on record — cutting child poverty nearly in half in 2021, narrowing the racial poverty gap for Black and Hispanic children, and significantly reducing food insecurity and material hardship.

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On September 13, 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the United States saw the lowest child poverty rate on record, with 5.2% of children (3.8 million) living below the poverty line in 2021. The United States also saw the lowest one-year drop in child poverty on record, a 46% decline since 2020. For the first time, children experienced lower poverty rates than adults.

This new data confirms that child poverty is a policy choice — we know how to address it, we just need the political will to act.

This historic decline in child poverty in 2021 is due to significant, but temporary, investments made for children in the American Rescue Plan Act. Improvements to the Child Tax Credit generated much of this impact, on their own preventing nearly 3 million children from experiencing poverty in 2021. The third round of Economic Impact Payments, continued expansions to the Unemployment Insurance program, and continued increases to benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also had a significant impact on child poverty.

While this progress is unprecedented and worth celebrating, it also greatly underestimates hardship and still leaves many children behind. Income thresholds used to measure poverty remain much too low, so many households with children with incomes at double the poverty line still experience significant financial insecurity and struggle to make ends meet.

Children of color experienced poverty at record lows in 2021, but significant racial and ethnic disparities still exist. Children in immigrant families still face more significant barriers to economic stability than non-immigrant families due to restricted access to tax credits and other benefits. The data does not consider children in Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories but figures show they face higher rates of poverty than children in the 50 states and the District of Columbia due to their unequal access to federal benefits as part of a long history of racism and discrimination against Americans living in the territories.

But unless Congress acts quickly to extend improvements to the Child Tax Credit, the progress achieved in 2021 will only be temporary. We have already seen backtracking on this progress in 2022, with nearly 4 million children pushed back into poverty in January. The loss of the improvements to the Child Tax Credit combined with high food costs and rising rents means that many families are once again experiencing significant material hardship.

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For the first time in generations, we are on the precipice of making serious and long-term progress to reduce our stubbornly high rate of child poverty in the United States.

Historically, the United States has had a significantly higher rate of child poverty than other developed countries because we have continually failed to sufficiently invest in our children. While the establishment of Social Security has permanently reduced poverty for seniors, children have remained the poorest group in America.

This situation is not due to lack of evidence on what works to reduce child poverty, but rather the lack of political will to act.

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On January 14, the incoming Biden Administration unveiled a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief framework, the “American Rescue Plan,” which represents the President-Elect’s first major priority after his January 20 inauguration. Along with $350 billion in proposed aid to state and local governments, the plan includes a variety of provisions to bolster the public health response and foster economic recovery.

The package also includes a series of policy measures that, taken together would result in an estimated 5 million children rising above the supplemental poverty measure in 2021—reducing the child poverty rate by 51 percent. These provisions include:

• A proposed extension of the recently enacted 15 percent SNAP benefit increases through at least September 30, 2021

• An additional round of Economic Impact Payments worth $1,400 per eligible adult and child recipient

• An extension of current unemployment insurance expansions through September 30, 2021 (with a $400 per week national supplement)

• A fully refundable Child Tax Credit valued at $3,000 (ages 6-17) and $3,600 (under 6)

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2021 is off to an eventful start, full of tragedy and tumult, but also opportunity for progress with a new incoming Administration and Congress.

The Biden-Harris Administration and the 117th Congress face a daunting list of challenges, with stopping the spread of COVID-19 through improved vaccine distribution and providing financial relief to begin an economic recovery at the top of that list. While a legislative procedure known as “reconciliation” may be necessary to fast-track a COVID-19 response, we welcome a bipartisan relief package that recognizes that every aspect of our children’s lives is being disrupted. Improvements to the Child Tax Credit (CTC), as outlined in the American Family Act (AFA), as well as the establishment of a national child poverty target, are important pieces of COVID-19 aid to effectively address the persistently high — and increasing — level of child poverty in our country. We were encouraged to see recent news that President-elect Biden plans to include improvements to the CTC in his COVID-19 relief proposal.

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See this video from Rachel Mackey, Associate Legislative Director at the National Association of Counties (NACo), on the role of counties in administering programs and implementing innovative solutions to reduce child poverty as well as NACo’s advocacy for the Child Poverty Reduction Act, the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act and other measures to give counties more flexibility to address child poverty in their communities.

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See this video from Dr. Diana Fishbein, Co-Director of the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives, regarding the work of NPSC to translate prevention science for lawmakers and advocate in a non-partisan manner for a national prevention science strategy to address child poverty and other inequities in our society.

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See this video from Phillip Vander Klay, Director of Policy & Government Relations at the National Diaper Bank Network, regarding the effect of COVID-19 on diaper need in America and what the National Diaper Bank Network is doing to ensure all families with children have access to an adequate and clean diaper supply.

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There is real momentum towards addressing the high rate of child poverty in the United States and the Coronavirus outbreak has only served to confirm that action to reduce child poverty and support family economic security is more necessary than ever. Congress has held three separate committees hearings on child poverty in the past six weeks, all which have highlighted that we know what is needed to address the problem, now there just has to be the political will to act.

In 2019, the National Academy of Sciences released A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, a non-partisan, evidence-based study that models a set of policy and program changes, that if implemented, would cut our child poverty rate in half within a decade. The policies in this roadmap, such as establishing a national monthly child allowance program, increasing SNAP benefits, housing vouchers, and other proven solutions would ensure that families have the resources needed to support their children’s healthy development and support their long-term success.

As the spread of the Coronavirus has grown, the vulnerabilities within our system have become clear. Children and families living in poverty already lack the financial stability to consistently access nutritious food, stable housing, healthcare, and all of the resources needed to support a child’s healthy development. A public health crisis only exacerbates these needs when resources are scarce for everyone.

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The U.S. Census Bureau released annual data on child poverty in the United States on September 10 that shows benefit programs are particularly effective at reducing poverty for children.

The U.S. Census Bureau calculates the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) as an alternate measure to the Official Poverty Measure. Unlike the Official Poverty Measure, which uses an income threshold solely based on the cost of food, the SPM incorporates the cost of food, clothing, shelter and utilities. It also adjusts for family size and geographic differences in housing costs. The SPM further considers cash income (including child support) and non-cash benefits, subtracts taxes (or adds tax credits), work expenses, out-of-pocket medical expenses, and child support paid to another household.

When taking all of these factors into account, the SPM rate for children in 2018 was 14.5 percent, compared to 16.2 percent when using the Official Poverty Measure. The nearly two-point drop in poverty illustrates that benefit programs are particularly effective for children and must not only be protected, but strengthened so they can reach many more children still living in poverty.

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Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual national data on poverty in America and it paints the picture that we know all too well: Our child poverty rate remains stubbornly high despite the fact that we have the solutions to address it.

According to the Census Bureau’s Official Poverty Measure (OPM), 16.2 percent of children (11.9 million) were living in poverty in 2018.  (The official poverty line for a family of four with two children is $25,465 a year.)

The new figure represents a 1.2 percent decrease from 2017.  While we are encouraged to see this small decrease in the child poverty rate, we know that children still have a 54.4 percent higher chance of living in poverty than adults and that the United States continues to have a significantly higher rate of child poverty than most of our peer countries.

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One thing I have learned while working in policy advocacy is that strong data alone is not enough to make lawmakers act—they need to be held accountable.

This why I am grateful for the partnership of Save the Children Action Network and more than 20 other organizations in launching End Child Poverty U.S., a national campaign to build the public and political will to making child poverty a national priority.

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