Child Tax Credit

‘I Just Wish I Could Have One Good-Paying Job’: A Black Mother’s Story of Hard Work and Hope

Front & Center began as first-person accounts of Black mothers living in Jackson, Miss., receiving a guaranteed income. Moving into the fourth year and next phase of this series, we’re expanding our focus beyond a single policy intervention to include a broader examination of systemic issues impacting Black women experiencing poverty. This means diving deeper into the interconnected challenges they face—including navigating the existing safety net; healthcare, childcare and elder care; and the importance of mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

“I’m lucky if I get four or five hours a day of sleep, but it’s what I have to do to make sure my kids are taken care of and I have enough money to cover all my bills. … When I was part of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, I was able to just work one job. … I hate that it’s over, I really wish leaders would create a policy like that that would be permanent.”

The Childcare Crisis Hampers Opportunity for America’s Families

Half of all U.S. families live in childcare deserts with either inadequate or nonexistent licensed childcare to rely on for support. Within this landscape, many parents are forced to make difficult decisions about their children’s care or their own jobs, not because it’s what they think is best for their family, but because they lack any other options.

As the incoming Trump administration readies itself for office, early childhood advocates must press any advantage to keep childcare and early learning a top priority.

The U.S. Can Create True Wealth by Giving Cash to Parents Who Need It

In 2018, we launched the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, the United States’ first modern-day guaranteed income program and the first in the world to focus solely on low-income Black mothers. 

Our goal is simple: Provide the financial capital necessary for these mothers to dream a little bigger and breathe a little easier. We can give everyone that kind of wealth. And yes, I will play on the word here—we can guarantee it. If we are willing to understand, a little financial investment can change someone’s life, and allow them the flexibility, heart, and mind to build and define true wealth—equity, delight, honor and love. 

Giving Parents More Cash Is a Start—But It Can’t Be the End

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The big news out this week: The expanded child tax credit could be reinstated for three years as part of a bipartisan tax package. This would be a huge deal for families across the country who have been struggling with dwindling supports from the government as pandemic-era boosts expire. 

While this latest deal lacks heft—in that it maxes out at a little more than half of the 2021 expanded CTC that was our nation’s greatest tool ever in fighting poverty—it is still significant for putting us back on the path toward radical transformation.

Here’s What Biden Had To Say About Abortion, the Child Tax Credit, and More in the State of the Union

In his State of the Union speech to Congress and the nation Tuesday night—during which Republicans found little to cheer for (and, in some cases, cause to disrupt)—President Biden specifically addressed some of the major issues of concern to feminists. From calling for advancing paid family and medical leave and expanding the Child Tax Credit, to LGBTQ+ rights and abortion—the latter of which is expected to be a major motivating issue for women voters in the 2024 election—he spoke on a number of feminist topics.

Front and Center: Before Guaranteed Income and the Child Tax Credit, ‘Some Months I Would Fall Very Short’

Front and Center highlights the success of Springboard to Opportunities’ Magnolia Mother’s Trust, which this year will give $1,000 per month for 12 months to 100 families headed by Black women living in federally subsidized housing.

“When people say that programs like this will stop people from working, it just makes no sense to me. $1,000 isn’t enough for me to quit my job and is less than what I make, and what I make from working isn’t enough to cover all my bills. People like me need more income.”

Women Need a Win. Pass the Child Tax Credit Expansion.

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When we talk about freedom of choice and bodily autonomy, we too often leave out the role economic status plays in attaining this freedom. This is particularly important for Latinx women who face the largest income gap and for Black women, who suffer the highest maternal mortality rate and historically bear the brunt of restrictive reproductive policies.

Passing the expanded child tax credit is certainly not a silver bullet solution to the seemingly endless problems women face in this country. But, it is an important step in our long and painful journey to create a country that offers equity, freedom and autonomy to all.

Work Requirements for Child Tax Credits Are An Insult to Mothers

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Upcoming Tax Day offers a painful reminder for many parents of the short-lived expanded child tax credit (CTC). this relief from financial distress has been blocked by Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and every Republican in their refusal to pass the Build Back Better Act.

If the CTC was extended, the poverty rate among Black children could have been reduced by more than 50 percent. Manchin has been demanding “work requirements” for qualification—but every mother is a working mother, and every mother knows that.

The Child Tax Credit Proved Unrestricted Cash Keeps Families Out of Poverty. Without It, Low-Income Families Are Struggling

As the childhood poverty rate rises—from 12 percent in December to 17 percent in January—Black and Latino families are being hit the hardest by the end of the child tax credit payments. Experts estimate that the poverty rate for Black and Latino children will jump to over 25 percent. One reason the CTC was so successful in reducing poverty rates is because it puts unrestricted cash directly into the hands of people who need it most. Over 90 percent of low-income families used the CTC to afford basic needs—food, clothing, school supplies, utilities and rent.

“If I could talk to President Biden, I would tell him that he should make the child tax credit permanent, because so many people are still unemployed and the pandemic is not over,” revealed one low-income mom, I’esha. “And people need help even without a pandemic going on.”