The rate of child poverty in the United States has more than doubled, from 5.2 percent in 2021 to 12.4 percent in 2022, according to newly released data from the Census Bureau, translating to 5.2 million more children living in poverty than in 2021. This increase follows the expiration of most of the COVID-era programs that resulted in unprecedented reductions in child poverty. The new Census data highlight the critical role of pandemic-era social safety net expansions in the dramatic decrease in child poverty rates in 2020 and 2021. Despite high rates of unemployment during the pandemic, child poverty (as measured by the Supplemental Poverty Measure) declined by 25 percent in 2020 and by nearly 50 percent in 2021, largely thanks to stimulus payments and temporary expansions to government programs such as the Child Tax Credit, Unemployment Insurance, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), among others. The expiration of these programs reverses the progress of the last two years.
What should we do now?
Implement permanent, proven solutions to protect children from the hardships of living in poverty. The payoff is huge for the health and well-being of our nation's children and for our society as a whole: For every $1 we invest in our children, our society reaps $8 worth of rewards, according to a recent study. To prevent further loss of the progress we made in reducing child poverty over the past quarter century, the United States needs permanent policies that build on the lessons learned through the pandemic:
https://www.childtrends.org/blog/5-million-more-children-experienced-poverty-in-2022-than-in-2021-following-expiration-of-covid-era-economic-relief
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Brandon Taylor
Assistant Professor
California State University, Fresno
brtaylor@csufresno.edu------------------------------