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JULY FOCUS: RISK-TAKING & OVERCOMING FAILURE | ISSUE 3 OF 4 | 7.19.21
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Expanded child tax credit a ‘great step forward’ to reducing poverty in Iowa, leaders say
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BY EMILY BLOBAUM, FEARLESS EDITOR
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Camille Juarez plays with her daughter, Veda. Juarez is one of millions of parents who will benefit from the expanded child tax credit. Photo by Emily Blobaum.
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On July 15, more than 36 million families across the U.S. began receiving the first round of child tax credit payments.
We spoke with nonprofit leaders and one Iowa family on what the credit will mean for middle- and low-income households in the state.
Background
The child tax credit was temporarily expanded under the American Rescue Plan that was passed by the U.S. Congress in March. Previously, the maximum yearly credit families received was $2,000 per dependent child under 17 and families who didn’t earn enough money to pay income taxes couldn’t get the full credit.
Now, families will receive $3,000 per child age 6 to 17 and $3,600 per child under 6. Half of the credit will be distributed monthly, starting in July and continuing through December. The other half will be available once families file their 2022 taxes. That comes out to $250 per month per child age 6 to 17 and $300 per month per child under 6.
The credit is available to single filers making up to $75,000 a year, single head-of-household filers making up to $112,500 a year and married couples filing jointly making up to $150,000 a year.
The expanded credit has a one-year price tag of $105 billion. The Biden administration and congressional Democrats hope to make the program permanent.
Why it’s significant
Experts say the expanded child tax credit could cut childhood poverty in half. Iowa could see nearly a 40% drop in child poverty.
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Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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In Iowa, the credit will benefit 669,000 children. Of those children, 78% are white, 10% are Latino, 4% are Black, 2% are Asian and 5% are other/multiple races, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The expanded credit is now available to 27 million children who weren’t able to access the previous $2,000 credit, including nearly half of all Black and Latino kids. In Iowa, 198,000 children who were left out of the previous credit are now eligible – 61% of them white, 16% Latino, 12% Black, 9% other/multiple (Asian N/A).
Michelle Book, CEO of the Food Bank of Iowa: "Inequity is causing problems in our culture. The child tax credit is an income equalizer. … When you’re living in an environment where you cannot cover the basic needs of your household and your children, that creates incredible stress and leads to lots of problems that could simply be solved if they had a few more dollars in their bank account and could pay to have a flat tire fixed or have money to buy a bus ticket to work, can make sure they can fill their prescriptions for mental health. That all ensures they can maximize their employment opportunities and buy food for the household. It’s a big game of dominoes. All these things are interconnected."
Anne Bacon, executive director, Impact Community Action Partnership: "It’s a great step forward in reducing the amount of families who deal with the challenges that come with poverty. It’s a great step forward. It won’t solve the problem, but it will be very helpful. … One of the big deals with this is being able to get it out to families upfront so their money can be used when they need it. They really need the cash in their pockets now."
Story continues below advertisement
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Where things stand in Iowa
Income and poverty
- The average annual household survival budget for a four-person family in Iowa is $56,772, according to United Way’s 2018 ALICE Report. The report also states that 66% of Iowa jobs pay less than $20 per hour, or $41,600 per year.
- More than 450,000 households in Iowa – or 37% – struggle to afford basic household expenses.
Child care
- A two-parent household in Iowa earning the 2019 median income of $61,691 pays between roughly 8% and 12% of their pretax income to send their infant to child care. For a single-parent household, that jumps anywhere from 27% to 41%.
- Child care often represents a family’s largest expense. The 2018 ALICE Report states that it costs an average of $1,031 per month for a family to send both an infant and a preschooler to a licensed and accredited child care facility.
Housing
Food insecurity
What it will mean for families
For Camille Juarez and her partner, Antonio Downing, both 24, the expanded child tax credit is a source of relief – they’ll receive a total of $6,600.
Juarez and Downing have one 9-month-old daughter, Veda, together. Juarez also has another 8-year-old daughter, Isabelle.
Born 3 pounds 13 ounces, Isabelle is immunocompromised, which meant that Juarez had to stay home with her while she attended elementary school virtually, rendering Juarez unable to work.
Juarez received the federal unemployment benefit until Gov. Kim Reynolds ended the program in June, citing severe workforce shortages.
"When Kim Reynolds took away the benefit, it was almost like a sense of betrayal. That money was keeping us on our feet. That extra $300 per week meant staying alive, keeping my kids fed and keeping a roof over our heads in a time of uncertainty," Juarez said. "Now the child tax credit means getting back on our feet and being able to provide for our children in a multitude of ways."
Juarez hopes to use the credit to send Isabelle to summer camp – something that she’s never been able to afford – enroll Isabelle and Veda in swim lessons, set money aside for Isabelle’s college funds and save for the holidays. But her top priority is getting new brakes on her car.
Nonprofit leaders see the expanded tax credit as an empowering tool for families.
Michelle Book: "What’s really happening with the child tax credit is that we’re assuming that people – regardless of their level of income – can make the best decisions possible for their family. … With WIC and other assistance programs, there’s a huge amount of bureaucracy and red tape with that."
Mary Janssen, Region 2 director, Iowa Child Care Resource & Referral: "It’s a great benefit for our families. I would love to hear stories of families in a year of how it impacted their life. Whether the credit goes toward child care or not, it’s still going to help them afford their child care bill and then that ultimately trickles down to help the child care center."
Anne Bacon: "People with means might look at $300 per month and not think that it would make that massive of a difference. But to many families, it’ll be life-changing."
Editor’s note: In future editions of Fearless, we’ll check back with Juarez and others to see how the credit affected their budgets. If you’d like to share your story, contact Fearless Editor Emily Blobaum at emilyblobaum@bpcdm.com.
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Left: Actress Mj Rodriguez. Center: Champion speller Zaila Avant-garde. Right: Sprinter Allyson Felix.
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- Mj Rodriguez made Emmy history last week when she became the first out trans woman to be nominated in the outstanding lead actress category for her role on the FX drama "Pose." In 2014, Laverne Cox became the first trans person to be nominated in an acting category in Primetime Emmy history, thanks to her role on "Orange Is the New Black." She would go on to be nominated three more times in the outstanding guest actress category and win a Daytime Emmy in 2015.
- Zaila Avant-garde, a 14-year-old from New Orleans, was named the winner of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee earlier this month, becoming the bee’s first African American champion. Avant-garde is also a talented basketball player with three Guinness World Records in dribbling.
- Olympian Allyson Felix has partnered with Athleta and the Women’s Sports Foundation to give $200,000 in grant money to athletes who need to pay for child care while training for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
- For the first time on a broadcast, fans of Major League Baseball can watch a game in which they might not hear a man’s voice. Five women will serve as the on-air crew for the Baltimore Orioles game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. Women have been broadcasting baseball games on radio and television for decades, but this is believed to be the first time an all-women team will handle the entire broadcast for a major league game.
- "Black Widow," the latest woman-fronted and -directed Marvel movie, broke pandemic-era box office records in its opening weekend, raking in $215 million.
- Nominations for the 2021 Iowa Women of Achievement Awards are due Sept. 1. Presented by Women Lead Change, the annual award recognizes up to three historical women who have made lasting contributions to the well-being of the community, state or nation. More information can be found at the Women Lead Change website.
- The Iowa Women’s Foundation is accepting letters of interest for the Building Community Child Care Solutions Fund. The fund is designed to improve the lives of Iowa women and girls through creating solutions to the state’s child care crisis.
- The 2021 winners of the Ivy Women in Business Awards are Kimberly Baeth, Jennifer Bryant and Kayla Vandehaar. Established in 2018, the awards celebrate women known for inspiration, leadership and ability to serve as champions for women in business. The winners will be honored at the Iowa State University Alumni Center on Sept. 8. More information can be found on the Ivy College of Business website.
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KNOW YOUR WORTH: FEARLESS STORIES AT WORK, BY
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Advocating for Others: Lynh Nguyen Patterson
Lynh Nguyen Patterson knows how to talk teeth. And she knows how to make you care. That’s her job as government relations manager at Delta Dental of Iowa, a nonprofit insurance company. Patterson’s primary responsibility is to convey to legislators the value of oral wellness as a critical public health issue and call for supporting policies. Patterson didn’t realize it at the time, but what was absent from her childhood laid the foundation for her future career. Her parents weren’t political. Like many Vietnam War-era immigrants, their struggles revolved around emerging from poverty. READ THE FULL STORY>
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"NOTHING IN LIFE IS TO BE FEARED. IT IS ONLY TO BE UNDERSTOOD."
MADAME CURIE
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Meet Glamour’s Community College Women of the Year (Glamour). Why do so few men read books by women? (The Guardian). Black Widow began as a sexist stereotype. More than a decade later, Scarlett Johansson is reclaiming her story (Time). Hiring, firing, setting the culture: Black women at the top of TV news (New York Times). Meet the moms who have qualified for the U.S. Olympic team (NBC Sports). 'Legally Blonde’ oral history: From raunchy script to feminist classic (New York Times). Adweek's Women Trailblazers: 35 inspirational leaders improving the future for us all (AdWeek). More opportunities for women and economic uncertainty contribute to declining U.S. fertility rates (Iowa Capital Dispatch). The untold story of Mollie Tibbetts’ final moments — and her family’s 3-year struggle to reclaim her memory (Des Moines Register). Voices of Disability (Refinery 29).
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For more information about the expanded child tax credit, visit the following links.
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