Social Workers Must Prioritize Child Poverty Reduction

Viewpoints

By Michael Beattie, LMSW

The most important problem facing America is the dramatic rise in child poverty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, child poverty increased from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2023. Methods to rapidly reduce child poverty are widely known, yet the nation has not made it a priority.

Causes of Recent Increase in Child Poverty

We know child poverty can be curbed because in 2021, the American Rescue Plan cut the child poverty rate in half by increasing the child tax credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child ages 7 to 17, and $3,600 for children aged 6 and under. A Columbia University study found that the increase in the child tax credit reduced child poverty by 28% and would have reduced it by an additional 40% had all eligible families claimed it. 

One of flaws with the child tax credit is that the amount of the credit is based on earnings, so it mostly goes to middle and upper earners. Due to the expiration of legislation, the child tax credit is scheduled to be reduced to $1,000 per child in 2026.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation earlier this year that would have expanded the tax credit by making it refundable to families with lower incomes. Although the credit is normally $5,200 per child, families who owe no income taxes —because they are below the poverty line—only get a maximum of $1,328. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimated the bill would have lifted 500,000 children out of poverty and benefited a total of 16 million children. Senate Republicans filibustered this bill.

The expiration of pandemic-era increases in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is another cause of increased child poverty. States automatically renewed eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says 5.13 million children lost coverage of either Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage when states resumed annual Medicaid eligibility determinations in 2024. Georgetown University School of Public Policy  reviewed the first 21 states to renew annual eligibility and found that more than 500,000 children had been disenrolled despite being eligible.

Demographics of Child Poverty

Historic injustices such as seizure of Native-owned land, slavery, discrimination, and lack of power are linked to child poverty. According to Census Bureau data, African Americans and Latinos are 50% more likely to live in poverty than the overall population, while Native Americans are 220% more likely to live in poverty. The poverty rate for able-bodied people was 11.4%, but the rate for people with disabilities was 25.9%. 

Effects of Child Poverty

Poverty prevents parents from making necessary investments in nutrition, housing and medical care. As a result, child poverty impacts brain development. Low-income parents have to forgo investments in books, computers, after-school programming, and child care in order to afford basic necessities. According to the National Academy of Sciences: “We find overwhelming evidence … that, on average, a child growing up in a family whose income is below the poverty line experiences worse outcomes than a child from a wealthier family in virtually every dimension, from physical and mental health, to educational attainment and labor market success, to risky behaviors and delinquency.”

ABC News reports that children are increasingly leaving school early to work, resulting in an 88% increase in federal child labor violations since 2019. Children are dying due to working in dangerous jobs—like meat-packing plants. Despite hazardous working conditions, many states are rolling back child labor laws.

Not knowing whether they will have a place to stay or enough to eat stresses children. Poverty also is associated with a lack of disposable savings. A lack of savings creates stress because children learn that unexpected events, such as car repair, force a reduction in essential goods. When people in poverty cluster together in neighborhoods, children are more likely to suffer adverse childhood events (ACE), like violence. Residents of low-income neighborhoods experience food deserts, lack of the most nutritious foods, and increased concentrations of pollution.

Call to Action

Complete elimination of child poverty would require immense changes in power and inequality. Yet, there are practical things social workers can do to greatly reduce child poverty—and the success of the American Rescue Plan of 2021 proves that it’s possible.

The social work profession needs to fight to put child poverty at the top of the national agenda by mobilizing clients and urging the media to highlight the ill effects of child poverty. Social workers must become missionaries in the fight against child poverty, ensuring that eligible children do not lose Medicaid or SNAP benefits.

Social workers should identify and eliminate bureaucratic barriers like complex paperwork or clogged phone lines that make eligibility or renewal difficult. We need to publicize the child tax credit and ensure our eligible clients receive it. Social workers can gain a better understanding of the detrimental effects of child poverty by inviting low-income parents to serve on advisory commissions and nonprofit boards of directors. This will also empower clients.

Local government can fight poverty by letting SNAP beneficiaries ride for free on public transportation. States can tackle child poverty by creating child tax credit on income taxes, eliminating sales taxes on food, or waiving sales taxes on school supplies for SNAP beneficiaries.

In order to reduce child poverty, social workers must advocate for an increase in the child tax credit and making it refundable.

Michael Beattie, LMSW, is the executive director of Visionary Solutions and serves on the NASW Virginia Chapter’s Social Justice and Disability committees.

References

Kids Losing Medicaid Coverage

Spike in U.S. Child Poverty

ABC News