A Connecticut group is circulating a petition of support about the proposed child tax credit. United Way of Connecticut's petition has 540 signatures and aims to galvanize conversations about the child tax credit. Connecticut's credit would provide families with $600 per child for up to three children.

Daniel Fitzmaurice, advocacy director with United Way of Connecticut, said the petition's responses reflect families' dire need for this extra money.

"These families are maybe one flat tire away from missing a day of work, not getting paid that day, and being evicted. Or, these families have pushed off medical appointments for them or their children because they are not sure they could afford the co-pays or any of the treatments that might come with it," he said.

He added that families eligible for the Child Tax Credit might also qualify for some assistance programs, but might earn too much to receive others. Along with the Child Tax Credit bill, Connecticut's General Assembly also considered legislation for a benefits cliff pilot program. This two-year proposed program would have provided subsistence for people who've gone over the benefits cliff. But, like the Child Tax Credit bill, it failed to pass.

As helpful as the Child Tax Credit is, it can only do so much. Fitzmaurice said there are things the state government can do beyond the credit to help families afford daily life. United Way of Connecticut's 2023 ALICE Essentials index shows basic costs rose more than 18% between 2021 and 2023. He says the state's tax system also plays a role in this.

"Our state has one of the most regressive tax policies in the country, where lower and middle-income people actually pay a much greater portion of their wages every year in state taxes than the highest earners in our state," he explained.

A Connecticut Voices for Children report finds the state's tax system overwhelmingly benefits higher-income and wealthy tax filers. Some policy changes that could rectify this include eliminating or reducing regressive tax expenditures, and increasing personal income tax rates on higher-income tax filers.

Free school lunch and breakfast may soon be the law in the Commonwealth.

House Bill 1958 would require local school boards to participate in federal school lunch and breakfast programs through the Department of Agriculture. The programs make school lunches and breakfasts available to any student who asks for one.

Some schools are already taking part in the programs but the legislation would make it a requirement statewide.

Emily Hardy, deputy director of the Center for Healthy Communities at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said there is a need for expanded free school meals across the state.

"Almost 400,000 kids would qualify financially currently to get school breakfast that don't," Hardy reported. "We do know there are a lot of children in Virginia who are food insecure, but aren't currently getting the service in their school."

Nearly 1.3 million Virginia children are currently enrolled in public schools across the Commonwealth.

Research from No Kid Hungry suggested free school breakfast also cuts down on rates of chronic absenteeism, where students miss 10% or more of the academic year.

Hardy noted sometimes, a free school meal could come with a stigma for students. A blanket policy, she added, can also help other parents, not just those in a tough financial position.

"Reducing stigma, making it so that all children have access to this, it both helps parents who could afford to pay for meals but maybe don't have the time to make them, or are struggling with other things," Hardy emphasized. "It also helps those children who are low-income, who then don't have to face the stigma of being the only kid getting the free meal."

Other states have already taken steps to provide blanket school meals to students, including in Minnesota, New Mexico and Maine.

Finding appropriate placements for youths entering Ohio's child welfare system has become increasingly difficult.

Rachel Reedy, outreach and member engagement manager for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, said the complex needs of children in the system, ranging from behavioral and mental health care to justice involvement, require specialized placements, which can drive up costs.

"Across the state, we have just heard more and more about the challenges in finding affordable, accessible and appropriate placements for our youths coming into our child welfare system," Reedy reported.

The challenges are compounded by rising costs, even as fewer children are entering care. County commissioners play a critical role in funding child welfare through a combination of federal, state and local dollars, including property tax levies in some areas.

A lack of trained professionals is another significant obstacle. Reedy elaborated on the capacity challenges within the system.

"We need workforce supports as well," Reedy urged. "When you do not have enough workforce in the system and facilities available, that leads to these capacity challenges, which, in a sense, drives up the cost."

She highlighted initiatives at the state level, such as efforts to encourage students to pursue careers in social work and human services. However, the solutions take time, underscoring the urgency for collaboration at all levels. Reedy added addressing the challenges requires a united effort from local communities, state leaders and lawmakers to ensure every child receives the care they need.


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In his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. condemned the poverty hindering Black Americans' rights and decades later, a new report found children of color still bear the weight of poverty.

The analysis by the Economic Policy Institute showed in 2023, Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native children were three times more likely than their white peers to live in poverty. In Missouri, there's a nearly 17% child poverty rate, just above the national average revealing risks to children's overall well-being.

Ismael Cid-Martinez, economist at the Economic Policy Institute and the report's co-author, said a major cause centers around employment disparities.

"Black workers are more likely than their non-Hispanic white peers to be unemployed," Cid-Martinez reported. "Then when they do obtain some form of employment in the labor market, they're likely to earn less than their peers."

The report also revealed Asian children are twice as likely as their white peers to live in poverty. Cid-Martinez stressed a key solution is implementing policies to ensure the social safety net effectively addresses the material needs of families.

According to the report, the expanded Child Tax Credit cut poverty for children of color by half from 2019 to 2021, lifting more than 700,000 Black children and 1 million Hispanic children out of poverty. However, the gains largely vanished when lawmakers did not extend the tax credit.

Cid-Martinez emphasized stronger unions in the labor market would help.

"Unions help ensure that working parents have jobs where they have the necessary benefits and the flexibility of hours that they need to provide care for children," Cid-Martinez noted.

Recent data showed Black Missourians face a 13.1% unemployment rate, nearly five times higher than white residents. Cid-Martinez added poverty figures reflect economic progress, highlighting King's dream of economic equality remains unfulfilled.


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