Child Poverty
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the consequences of allowing so many children and families in America to live in poverty. Expanding and increasing the Child Tax Credit and creating a new Young Child Tax Credit will help reduce rapidly rising child poverty, provide meaningful assistance for working families, and help stabilize the economy during and beyond this pandemic.
Child Poverty
Children and families struggling to make ends meet need more than just a one-time payment. Families need a larger and recurring monthly payment of $2,000 a month for every adult and child for the duration of the economic downturn. Families with children are disproportionately feeling the effects of this crisis. We all benefit when children and their families are fully supported.
Child Poverty
More than 30 million people have lost their jobs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and millions of children could fall into poverty if Congress fails to meet this unprecedented challenge. Without robust federal support, one study estimates that child poverty could balloon from an already shameful 13.6 percent to nearly 21 percent, with Black and Latino children bearing a disproportionate risk of falling into or deeper into poverty.
Child Poverty
If enacted, the “Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act” would provide states, localities, territories, and tribes with flexible resources to provide direct support to households in need with short- and medium-term rental assistance or to cover up to 6 months of back-rent and late fees. The funds may also be used to stabilize households by helping to address the cost of security deposits and utility deposits and payments, among other expenses.
Child Poverty
As Congress looks to its next round of legislation we must cast a wider net and help everyone with extraordinary expenses. It makes sense to extend relief to keep businesses afloat and help keep wages flowing, and it is essential to fund state and local governments. At the same time, we must also keep families afloat through recurring direct payments, expanded unemployment insurance, and food/housing aid to those in need.
Child Poverty
Our lawmakers must remember that workers are people, and many workers are parents. Some are unemployed or underemployed and struggling to access an overburdened and inadequate unemployment insurance program. Some are frontline workers without access to sick leave. And too many have to choose between caring for a loved one and their economic security. When these workers suffer, their children and families hurt, too.
Child Poverty
Most people in the District are familiar with the case of Relisha Rudd. In February 2014, the 8-year-old girl was living with her mother at D.C. General, a hospital turned family homeless shelter, when she was abducted.
Child Poverty
The federal response to the COVID-19 crisis, including the Families First and the CARES Acts, left many low- and moderate-income immigrants out of the public health and stimulus policies. This exclusion threatens the well being of immigrants, their families - which include millions of U.S. citizen children - and our communities as a whole. This omission will greatly undermine the nation’s ability to overcome this unprecedented crisis.
Child Poverty
As COVID-19 ravages communities across our nation, more children are going to bed hungry and worrying about where their next meal will come from.
Child Poverty
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a harsh spotlight on the economic, social, and racial inequities in our nation.