Improve Supports for Families and their Children by Strengthening the Safety Net

The safety net is a vital lifeline for poor families – as well as those who are near poverty. Tax incentives, housing vouchers and food and nutrition supplements are just a few programs that provide families with supports in times of need. State policies that support families through difficult times not only help to mitigate hardship but can also provide access to future opportunities and increase positive outcomes for families and their children.

• Maintain and Expand State Tax Incentives for Children and Families. Policies such as the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Child Tax Credit have helped families increase their wages by providing both income support and incentivizing work. The EITC assists low-income families that work through a refundable tax credit. EITC reduces poverty by supplementing the wages of low-income families thereby providing extra financial assistance to use toward other important costs that can enhance family well-being. In addition to the financial benefits of the EITC, the credit has also been shown to significantly increase other positive outcomes for children. Research shows that the EITC improves the school performance of children on a variety of measures including test scores, which could lead to alleviating poverty among parents, as well as the their children in the future.

New York State has a number of refundable tax credits aimed at reducing poverty and offers both a state level child tax credit, called the Empire State Child Credit, and a tax credit to low income parents paying child support. New York State also offers a state Earned Income Tax Credit, which helps to reduce the tax burden on working families and supplements wages. In 2009, more than 1.6 million households claimed this credit, which resulted in $4.6 billion dollars in tax relief to working families. New York has a Child and Dependent Tax Credit to help subsidize child care costs and a tax credit for low-income home owners and renters, in the form of a Property Tax Circuit Breaker. In New York State a two-parent working family of four could potentially receive $11,556 in tax relief.

• Support State Nutrition Assistance Programs. Nutrition programs support poor and low-income children by providing families with enough assistance to offset the cost of providing consistent meals. Poverty has serious adverse effects on nutrition, and research has shown that many families living in poverty do not have access to healthy foods. Without proper nutrition, young children are more at risk for illnesses that weaken their immune system and can potentially impair their ability to learn, grow and fight infections. Healthy foods are essential to a child’s future physical and mental health, academic achievement and economic productivity. Unfortunately, in the United States, 15.9 million children under the age of 18 live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food.

The state of Maryland developed the Maryland Meals for Achievement (MMFA) program to combat childhood hunger. MMFA is an innovative classroom breakfast program that employs an alternative breakfast delivery method. All meals served follow USDA standards for a balanced nutritious meal. Initially the program served six schools and has since grown to serve 360 schools in the 2013-2014 school year. School eligibility is determined by participation in the federal School Breakfast Program and by having a student population where 40 percent are approved for free or reduced meals. In 2013, state funding for this program was increased by $1.8 million dollars, which means 56,896 additional children were able to be served. An evaluation by the Maryland State Department of Education found that this program has a positive impact on student’s behavior, attentiveness and individual performance. Another evaluation found that participating schools had a 7.2 percent decrease in the rate of absenteeism amongst their students, so in addition to getting their nutritional needs met, the program is increasing the number of students who are gaining valuable instruction time - leading to the promise of higher academic achievement.