We take a collective approach to advancing a child allowance that promotes economic and racial justice for all families. Our work is grounded in deep historical research that examines the ways in which policies and decisions have been built over time and how they continue to influence decisions and impact families in policy today. In addition to grounding our work in historical research, we center the experiences and needs of families through a combination of strategies including long-term collaboration and qualitative interviews and surveys. We believe that developing meaningful solutions can only be achieved if our policy work is driven by what families determine they need in ways that they determine work best.
Driven by both deep historical research and families’ needs, we advance a child allowance through new idea generation and collaborative action for change. An important element of this work is our work co-chairing, the ABC Coalition. This coalition is a collaborative partnership with diverse organizations to advance a child allowance.
Past Events
Beyond Temporary Relief for Families: Lessons from ARPA’s Investments in Child Care & the Child Tax Credit
November 2022 Watch the Center for the Study of Social Policy and a panel of parents and stakeholders discuss the impact of temporary investments made in families last year by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and to hear discussion around what’s needed now: permanent investments in families. The event will synthesized CSSP’s recent research with 45 Black and Latinx families in Michigan, Mississippi, and North Carolina on the impact of ARPA’s short-term investments in the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and child care.
Ensuring Families Receive the Child Tax Credit
July 2021
This webinar, from the Automatic Benefit for Children (ABC) Coalition, shared innovative outreach strategies to raise awareness about the child tax credit and how families can sign up.
As an extension of our work to advance an anti-racist child allowance, CSSP co-chairs the Automatic Benefit for Children coalition with the Children’s Defense Fund. In this work, we engage with partner organizations to advocate and strengthen the case for establishing a child allowance in the U.S.
Learn more about the ABC Coalition here.
Policy Paper
Let Us Rise: How Parents and Caregivers Would Design a Permanent Child Allowance to Advance Racial and Economic Justice
May 2023
To learn how a child allowance can be designed to meet families’ needs and advance racial and economic justice, CSSP interviewed more than 40 Black, Latinx, and other parents and caregivers of color with low and moderate incomes, asking about their goals for themselves and their families, their experiences with the Child Tax Credit and other programs that helped meet their needs, and what they would need from a permanent child allowance in order to support their families and fulfill their goals.
Download an infographic from this report detailing the difficulty in obtaining economic supports.
(26 pp)
Policy Paper
The Child Tax Credit & Family Economic Security: Findings from the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Survey of Families with Children
October 2022
To better understand the impact of the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) on Black, Latinx, and other families of color, and whether it was effectively redressing longstanding and interrelated racial and economic inequities, CSSP conducted a survey in the winter of 2021-2022. This brief summarizes findings from the survey, which complements previously-published qualitative analysis of the impact of the expanded CTC on families and communities.
(6 pp)
Report
Where Do We Go From Here?: How Temporary Investments in the Child Tax Credit & Child Care Impacted North Carolina Families, and the Road Ahead
July 2022
In this report, we explore how federal investments in the Child Tax Credit and child care helped North Carolina families and early educators get through the pandemic, and led them to feel supported by policymakers, and valued for their contributions to society. The findings are clear: to advance economic and racial equity, we must ensure that families and professional caregivers have the permanent, comprehensive support they need.
(27 pp)
Policy Paper
“We Don’t Have that in Mississippi”: How Temporary Expansions of the Child Tax Credit & Child Care Demonstrate the Importance of Federal Investments & Oversight
June 2022
This brief synthesizes findings from our research in Mississippi, where we interviewed and surveyed families who identified overwhelmingly as Black or African American, along with diverse child care providers and other stakeholders in the child care sector, to learn whether the Child Tax Credit and child care investments were advancing economic and racial equity and helping families.
(26 pp)
Policy Paper
A ‘Godsend’: How Temporary Investments in the Child Tax Credit and Child Care Impacted Michigan Families
March 2022
To learn about the impact of the American Rescue Plan’s short-term investments in the CTC and child care, CSSP conducted interviews with low- and moderate-income (ranging from $0-$55,000/year) families of color, child care providers, and stakeholders in Michigan between September and December 2021. The findings make it clear: Robust, long-term investments in both the Child Tax Credit and child care are necessary so that all families—and particularly families of color—have the support they need to not just survive, but to thrive.
(24 pp)
Policy Paper
The American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit: Advancing Equity and Laying the Foundation for a Child Allowance
March 2021
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes a historic one-year expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), providing much-needed support to families with children. This brief provides an overview of the benefits as well as steps the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress must take to ensure that this expanded benefit reaches the children who need it most, including children in Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and immigrant communities.
(7 pp)
Policy Paper
Economic Security in Good Times and Bad: COVID-19 Demonstrates Why We Need a Child Allowance
March 2020
The United States needs a child allowance—now and always. The public health crisis brought on by the coronavirus outbreak demonstrates why we need a child allowance now more than ever.
(4pp)
