On November 30th, 2022, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC)—led by Chairman Don Beyer (D-VA)—released a new report that highlights how the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) drove the largest-ever decline in child poverty in a single year in 2021. Child poverty fell to 5.2%, the lowest rate on record according to Census Bureau
On November 17th, 2022, Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) introduced a Resolution on "Recognizing the harm associated with restraints in schools," which was referred to both the Education and Labor and Judiciary Committees. Restraint and seclusion, which are legal in most districts nationwide, are commonly used when students – particularly those with disabilities – are in
Politico reports that as conservative states pass legislation to block gender-affirming care for minors, families with trans children are leaving to protect their children. Almost 2 percent of high schoolers in the U.S. identify as trans, according to Politico, and they report starkly higher rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health issues compared
ZERO TO THREE, in collaboration with Morning Consult, released a new poll showing strong support for reinstating the Expanded Child Tax Credit among parents of infants and toddlers. The poll results show: More than four in five (85%) parents say it is important for Congress to reinstate Child Tax Credit reforms, with bipartisan agreement on
The 74 Million published a piece discussing the implications of the pandemic, gun violence, and accidental overdoses and their impact on bereavement in children. As of June 2022, more than 250,000 American children under 18 had lost a primary caregiver to Covid-19. 2020 saw a 24.8% increase of children experiencing bereaved children with a total
Scientific American published an article highlighting the disparity of access to treatment for Black Americans due to access inequality during the opioid epidemic. “During 10 brutal years, opioid and stimulant deaths have increased 575 percent among Black Americans. In 2019 the overall drug overdose death rate among Black people exceeded that of whites for the
Congress has than four weeks left to pass legislation in the 117th Congress and there are several important items that need to be addressed in that time. Although there are still races that haven’t been called, news outlets have predicted that Democrats will retain control of the Senate and Republicans will gain a narrow majority
The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University has released a series of new reports and analyses regarding the Expanded CTC, including the following: New CTC research roundup -- this updates the original Dec 2021 roundup to include evidence through early November 2022 and provides a more detailed look at the impacts of
SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan released a report analyzing data from twenty states that have formed broad-based coalitions to move prenatal-to-three priorities forward. This report describes the prevalence of homelessness among infants and toddlers in these twenty states; gaps in access to early learning programs; and recommendations for increasing enrollment
A new CDC study, published November 11, 2022, found that close to 1 in 9 middle and high school students currently use tobacco products, accounting for an estimated 3.08 million students. For the ninth year in a row, e-cigarettes were the most popular product overall and cigars were the most commonly used form of combustible