Counting Children Fully in Economic Impact Payments and Other Cash Assistance Policies Matters for Poverty Reduction
This brief examines the impact of counting children as full recipients of Economic Impact Payments and other direct cash payments. Counting children fully in cash payments has a significant impact on poverty reduction.
Support for Paid Family Leave among Small Employers Increases during the Covid-19 Pandemic
The United States is one of the few countries that does not guarantee paid family leave to workers nationwide. We surveyed small firms in New York and New Jersey before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and found high support for state paid family leave programs in 2019 that rose substantially over time, particularly among firms who used it.
The Potential Poverty Reduction Effect of the American Families Plan
We find the proposed American Families Plan–which continues a set of pandemic-era supports, with additional anti-poverty policies–could reduce the national poverty rate in 2022 by nearly one-quarter and child poverty by nearly half.
The Potential Poverty Reduction Effect of the American Rescue Plan
We find that an economic relief package with an expanded Child Tax Credit, nutrition assistance, unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, and more could cut child poverty by more than half in 2021.
U.S. Monthly Poverty Rate Declines to 13.2% in January 2021
Using our monthly poverty framework, we find that the December 2020 COVID-19 economic relief package—continuing enhanced unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, and increased SNAP benefits—kept 13 million individuals from poverty in January 2021.
Monthly Poverty to Spike After Expiration of the CARES Act Unemployment Benefits
Using our monthly poverty framework, we find that a failure to extend two unemployment provisions of the CARES Act in December 2020 could see the number of individuals in poverty in January 2021 increase by 4.8 million.
Parental Unemployment Reaches Historic Highs During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Urgent policy action is needed to prevent long-lasting detrimental effects of the spike in the share of children with at least one unemployed parent during the pandemic. Black and Latino children have been particularly affected and mothers are more affected than fathers.
Monthly Poverty Rates in the United States during the Covid-19 Pandemic
In contrast to traditional annual poverty rates, we track monthly poverty rates before and throughout the pandemic. Government policy interventions successfully offset the worst of the pandemic’s effects, but monthly poverty increases hit Black and Latino communities, and all children, harder.
What do we know so far about U.S poverty rates in 2020?
This fact sheet reviews the annual US Census Bureau release of poverty data. While national poverty rates fell from 2018 to 2019, we identify three key aspects of what poverty is likely to look like in 2020.
The CARES Act and Poverty in the Covid-19 Crisis
We apply new forecasting methods to project the effect of the CARES Act on 2020 poverty rates. If households can access pandemic relief, the CARES Act could return poverty rates to pre-crisis levels.
Teenage and Young Adult Dependents Left Out of Cash Payments in Covid-19 Crisis
We identify the 10 million teenagers and young adults left out of CARES Act emergency cash payments and the states most impacted by their exclusion.
A Better Child Tax Credit During the Covid-19 Crisis
Early federal pandemic relief efforts did not focus on children. The Child Tax Credit can be made more generous, reach the one-third of children currently left out, and be delivered monthly to support children through the immediate crisis and beyond.
Forecasting Estimates of Poverty During the Covid-19 Crisis
We develop a novel method for forecasting poverty rates to assess how much the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic may increase levels of poverty in the US. Without policy action, poverty could reach the highest levels in more than 50 years.
The Case for Cash Allowances for Children During Economic Crises
Cash allowances for children – for example, through an expanded Child Tax Credit – can reach children currently left out or underserved by other cash and food assistance programs during economic crises.