Reducing child poverty by expanding child tax credits

Checks are rolling out to families under President Biden’s expanded child tax credit. Nine in 10 children – or roughly 60 million – qualify for the benefit that gives parents up to $300 per child per month through the end of 2021. Researchers say this money could have an enormous impact on families, lifting 45% of children out of poverty. In the U.S., 16% of children live at poverty levels and in Philadelphia, which has the highest poverty rates of any large American city, that number is even higher at 37%. This hour, we discuss child poverty in America and the potential for the child tax credit. Our guests are Drexel University’s MARIANA CHILTON, Princeton University’s KATHRYN EDIN, and Philadelphia parents and community advocates, IMANI SULLIVAN and ALISHA GILLESPIE.