Building on the American Rescue Plan Act: What’s Next for Reducing Child Poverty

With the American Rescue Plan Act projected to reduce child poverty by half, this session convened funders, researchers and advocates in exploring the roles that funders and other stakeholders can play in ensuring that these temporary policies are made permanent. Participants also learned about additional programs and supports that can help those living in extreme poverty. As she moderated the conversation, Mayra Alvarez of The Children’s Partnership noted the racial disparities in child poverty and underlying assumptions and policies that sustain those longstanding disparities.

Adam Gamoran, Ph.D., shared how the William T. Grant Foundation (WTFG) is investing in research to inform policies to reduce inequalities in youth outcomes, including the 2019 National Academies (NAS) report, Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, which outlined several policies in the ARPA. WTGF has agreed to invest in a future NAS report that will seek to inform additional policies to help economically challenged families build assets to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Lawrence Aber, Ph.D., of New York University and a member of the 2019 NAS report research committee, described the contextual factors that can either hinder or enhance the impact of the recent policy gains, including the necessity of equitable treatment across racial and ethnic groups and the removal of unnecessarily burdensome administrative procedures. With many of the poverty-reducing policies in the ARPA lasting only one or two years, Aber stressed the importance of highlighting how the benefits will extend far beyond impoverished families, reaching 90 percent of U.S. children.

Terry Mazany described how local funders in the Community Foundation Opportunity Network are taking action and working as bridge builders to close the opportunity gap and promote systems change to advance racial equity. He encouraged community foundations and other local funders to engage in the policy arena, including support for advocacy and movement building with an explicit focus on racial equity.

Sheila Smith, Ph.D., of the National Center for Children in Poverty and Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) outlined the additional policies and programs that could further advance the poverty-reducing benefits of the ARPA. Smith noted the importance of health, mental health and early child development programs, stressing the importance of improving birth outcomes and utilizing two-generation approaches. With 2020 projected to be the year that children of color become the majority of children in the United States, Wilson stressed that “one cannot speak of child well-being effectively without speaking of race” and that “one cannot speak professionally or consistently about racial justice without speaking about children.” Wilson also shared local and national strategies that could promote economic mobility and asset building, including child development accounts, in addition to increased funding for housing vouchers and nutrition.