Last week, the U.S. Census reported that the child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022, from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022.
This news is especially devastating following the historically low child poverty rates brought about by the expanded federal Child Tax Credit, proving once again that poverty is a policy choice. We know that child tax credits designed with intention can drastically reduce child poverty rates by providing meaningful assistance to families.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “One of the largest causes of this year’s jump in children’s poverty was the expiration of the 2021 [federal] Child Tax Credit expansion. Renewing this 2021 credit would have kept about 3 million children above the poverty line in 2022…avoiding more than half of the actual jump in the child poverty rate.”
In New York State, the child poverty rate has hovered just above and just below 20% for decades, with Black and Latino children significantly more likely to experience poverty than their white peers.
While the federal expanded Child Tax Credit was allowed to expire, New York’s Empire State Child Tax Credit has the potential to play a pivotal role in achieving New York’s child poverty reduction goals. Last year, Schuyler Center and our poverty-fighting partners successfully advocated for an expansion of the Empire State Child Tax Credit to include children and babies ages 0-3. But to make New York State’s child tax credit as powerful and inclusive as possible, the State must increase the credit amount and end the exclusion of children experiencing deep poverty by removing the phase in that applies to the lowest income families.
Schuyler Center continues to advocate for the most robust and effective Empire State Child Tax Credit possible. Learn more about the fight to end child poverty in New York State.
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