Lift Children Out of Poverty

n Expand and enhance tax credits available to families with children. [...] Census Bureau reported that 37.9 million people in the United States lived in poverty in 2022 and that there had been a significant increase in child poverty, with 12.4% of children (nearly 9 million children) living in poverty in 2022 compared to 5.2% of children (3.8 million) in 2021. [...] In 2019, the National Academy of Sciences report A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty pointed out the potential impact that poverty can have on children and their development: “Some children are resilient to a number of the adverse impacts of poverty, but many studies show significant associations between poverty and child maltreatment, adverse childhood experiences, increased material hardship, wo [...] As for the timing and severity of poverty, the literature docu- ments that poverty in early childhood, prolonged poverty, and deep poverty are all associated with worse child and adult outcomes.” Child Poverty and Child Welfare: A Complex Relationship Reducing, and eventually eliminating, child poverty is a critical step in achieving important child welfare policy goals like preventing child a [...] Too often, poverty and the lack of economic support that exists in communities with low average income contribute to circumstances that may prompt individuals’ involvement in the child welfare system. [...] Child neglect, and what is sometimes referred to as “chronic neglect,” can be described as a persistent pattern of severe and inadequate care with long-term impacts on the child. [...] A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that a higher rate of poverty is among several factors contributing to the higher proportion of African American children entering and remaining in foster care. [...] At a time when inflation and the cost of living have both risen dramatically, families are struggling to make ends meet. [...] Expanding these two credits has helped to stabilize families and reduced the harmful effects of poverty on children who are vulnerable. [...] There is ample evidence to support the value of addressing the economic and material hardship faced by most families with child welfare involve- ment, both as a means of preventing foster care or other out- of-home care and to prevent child abuse and neglect.