Growing up in downtown Logan, I remember taking magical winter evening walks in our neighborhood. I loved glimpsing the lit-up scene inside each window; it felt like walking in a life-sized snow globe. As I walked past each home, I saw families with similar sets of hopes and challenges, distinct in the particulars but united in desire to provide children with the stability, comfort and ability to thrive. For some households these pursuits seemed especially challenging and my young mind fidgeted with questions about that.
As an adult, I have spent time looking for answers. It has been both personally and professionally important to me that we as a society find ways to help children and families to thrive. One incredibly successful way to support that outcome has been the child tax credit. For the last 30 years, families have benefited from a program that prioritizes children while also honoring the truth that parents know better than anyone else what their children need.
As a college student at Utah State University, I would sometimes play a “what if” game with my friends. We would ask each other, “If you had a million dollars to spend to change the world in some way what would you do with it?” As my mind reviewed many tricky and important problems, I always ended up going earlier and earlier in life’s timeline into childhood. I knew that promoting well-being and minimizing negative impacts had a greater positive impact on someone’s life trajectory the earlier you can begin.
In that same mindset, backed by clear child development and policy research, child tax credits have often provided the most support for the youngest and most vulnerable children. Policy makers of both parties have acknowledged that families have better outcomes when we put money back in their pockets exactly when human stakes and external pressures are high. Most critically these ideas have had bipartisan support over decades. Child tax credits have been improved and increased by every president and Congress, regardless of their political party.
Child tax credits can benefit families across income levels. They can help provide basic needs, lighten the load of families with multiple children or allow families to prioritize having a parent care for children in the home. Last year the American Rescue Plan of 2021 temporarily expanded the child tax credit in important ways. For the first time, the expanded child tax credit of 2021 made full credit and refundability available for families with low incomes — who otherwise wouldn’t receive the tax benefits that were available to families with higher incomes — to help manage the costs of raising children. In fact, the expanded child tax credit of 2021 reduced child poverty rates in the U.S. by 46%.
But child tax credits don’t just help families, they also help build Utah’s economy and society. Children in families who receive the credit are more likely to graduate from high school and to make a higher income upon finishing school than those who didn’t. Our businesses benefit from a well-educated labor force, and research shows that every dollar of tax credit generates $1.50 to $2.00 in spending in local economies.
Finally, while the child tax credit is an important symbolic gesture about how our society values children, it also honors parents, acknowledging that each family should have the right to create a home based on their values. The child tax credit allows parents to spend the money the way they see best. Family stability is enhanced when families have access to the means to support their children’s needs that are important to them, including housing, food, clothing and priorities like books and toys to support learning and thriving. Interestingly, 90% of families with low incomes spent the expanded credit on these kinds of necessities. The expanded child tax credit led to more stable housing, better access to nutritious food and reduced family stress.
While the expanded child tax credit of 2021 proved to be impactful in important ways, it has since expired and unless it is reinstated, many families will lose out. Unless Congress acts on this, most Utah families will experience what amounts to a de facto tax increase, exactly when the cost of living is increasing.
Congress has the opportunity to give American children and their families an impactful, life-changing holiday gift that has been proven to change lives and futures. By permanently renewing the child tax credit, they can help parents as they do the hard work of building families and creating healthy, warm and thriving homes. This simple, well-tested policy will impact the stability, health and comfort of Utah children and families for years to come. We all want to walk past windows knowing that the families inside are warm, well and happy. Congress can help make that holiday wish a reality for us all.
Annie Bentley Waddoups lives in Logan, Utah, and Andover, Massachusetts. A member of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, she has a master’s and a doctorate in child & human development and has worked in early child development research and nonprofit family programs around the world for over 18 years.