Child Tax Credit

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

PUBLISHED 8/4/2022 by

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.

PUBLISHED 5/5/2022 by , and

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

PUBLISHED 4/13/2022 by and

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.

Front and Center: How the Child Tax Credit and Guaranteed Income “Help Mothers Like Me Get Out of a Continuous Cycle of Poverty”

PUBLISHED 3/31/2022 by

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.

“I carry a really heavy load as a single mom. There’s no one else—everything is on me. So it helped ease my burden a lot when I started getting the monthly child tax credits last year.”

Front and Center: Before a Guaranteed Income and the Child Tax Credit, “I Used To Have to Work Four or Five Jobs To Make Ends Meet”

PUBLISHED 2/24/2022 by

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.

“Getting to be part of the Mother’s Trust this year did a lot for me and my family. There’s the financial part that’s so important, but it also helped me show up better for my kids. I don’t think I ever let them down before, but I used to have to work four or five jobs to make ends meet. Having the income coming in on top of my wages from work gave me more time to spend with them since I didn’t have to work extra hours to make sure they had what they needed. It just helped me build myself up—financially, mentally, emotionally—everything you need to really build yourself up.”

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

PUBLISHED 2/14/2022 by

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.”

Stimulus Payments and the Child Tax Credit Are Transforming U.S. Families—What Happens When They End?

PUBLISHED 10/20/2021 by
Stimulus Payments and the Child Tax Credit Are Transforming U.S. Families—What Happens When They End?

Neither the COVID-era stimulus payments nor the child tax credit were designed to be permanent solutions—but if they were, they would especially help working moms, low-income women and women of color.

The Magnolia Mother’s Trust puts this into action, demonstrating that giving women an economic safety net leads to families escaping poverty and having the ability to set themselves and their families up for success.

Front and Center: This Mom Is “Saving and Paying My Bills on Time” to Buy a Home—With Help from a Guaranteed Income and the Child Tax Credit

PUBLISHED 9/2/2021 by
Front and Center: This Mom Is “Saving and Paying My Bills on Time” to Buy a Home—With Help from a Guaranteed Income and the Child Tax Credit

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.

“A lawyer advised me to file bankruptcy, so I did. And now that’s going to complicate getting a home, which is really frustrating because I had gotten everything else in order. … Now it just feels like I’m at a standstill.”

Front and Center: Guaranteed Income and the Child Tax Credit Are Keeping This Family Afloat

PUBLISHED 8/5/2021 by
A High-Risk Pregnancy Keeps Her from Working Seven Days a Week. Guaranteed Income and Child Tax Credit Keep Her Family Afloat

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.

“Now that I have the guaranteed income money coming in, I don’t have to worry about whether I can afford bills this month or be concerned about affording household supplies.”

“The child tax credit payments that started coming last month has been a huge help … to get prepared and buy my children their school things—there’s so much to get.”