PolicyLab

The American Rescue Plan (ARP), enacted into law in March 2021, includes important, but temporary, improvements to the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. These provisions will help reduce child poverty by 50% and benefit underserved populations in the short-term. PolicyLab recently signed this joint letter calling on Congress to make these improvements permanent in order to support low-income families and address racial inequalities in our federal tax code. 

In addition to signing onto this letter, PolicyLab has spoken out about the child poverty crisis and advocated for programs to address it. Recently, Health Policy Director Rebecka Rosenquist wrote a 200-word blog post about how the ARP will help lift children out of poverty by offering direct cash assistance to families regardless of immigration status. Our experts Tyler DeRubio and Leigh Wilson-Hall also had an opinion piece published in the Philadelphia Inquirer discussing the temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit and how it could improve the health and well-being of children and their families, if it were made permanent. Additionally, PolicyLab Faculty Scholar Dr. George Dalembert joined a virtual roundtable with Sen. Bob Casey and wrote an opinion piece about the impacts of the American Rescue Plan on child poverty, health and systemic racism. PolicyLab is committed to continuing to offer evidence-based recommendations on behalf of children and their families surrounding issues like child poverty.