Regional young child poverty in 2008: rural Midwest sees increased poverty, while urban Northeast rates decrease

In 2008, America\u27s recession affected poverty rates for children under age 6 unevenly, with rates in the rural Midwest rising significantly, while rates in northeastern central cities fell slightly. And in the rural South, where more than 30 percent of young children are poor, poverty rates for young children persisted at a very high rate. This is an analysis of American Community Survey data released by the U.S. Census Bureau

Child tax credit expansion increases number of families eligible for a refund

The analysis shows that more than 500,000 rural families, or almost 9 percent of rural families, will become newly eligible for the Child Tax Credit under the expansion included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Within these families are an estimated 900,000 rural children. The proportion of urban families benefiting from the expanded Child Tax Credit is slightly lower than in rural areas, but only 5 percent of suburban families are newly eligible for the credit

Forty-three percent of eligible rural families can claim a larger credit with EITC expansion

This policy brief on the changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit in the ARRA also shows that families with three or more children and married couples will receive an increased refund under these new EITC rules for tax years 2009 and 2010. Many families in urban and suburban communities will also see increased benefits under these new provisions

Seventy-eight percent of working rural families to receive full Making Work Pay tax credit

The Making Work Pay Tax Credit provides eligible U.S. workers with additional money in each paycheck throughout the year. The fact sheet shows that 78 percent of rural working families will receive the full amount of the credit, while an additional 10 percent of families will receive a partial credit due to low earnings or high earnings. These tax credits, along with the expansion to the Child Tax Credit, are an important financial boost to families in rural America, particularly low-income working families

Social Service Delivery in Two Rural Counties

In this brief, authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly use interview and focus group data to explore how the characteristics of two rural New England counties influence the types of services available to residents and the ways those services are delivered. They report that the challenges of funding and geographic distance, along with disparate needs among community members, shape the ways that rural social service providers support their clients. Community characteristics, like a place’s history, population composition, income inequality, and degree of remoteness, influence how efficiently social service agencies work. In the two counties discussed in this brief, federal, state, and local safety nets help residents scrape by and achieve mobility over the long run

Not very many options for the people who are working here Rural Housing Challenges Through the Lens of Two New England Communities

In this brief, authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly use interview and focus group data to describe some of the ways that restricted rural housing stock affects working families in two rural New England counties, and explore solutions proposed by rural residents and experts to make housing affordable. They report that many rural places are challenged by unaffordable and inadequate housing. In rural communities with scenic amenities, the draw of second-home owners and retirees restricts housing options for local working families. Land use regulations to preserve the scenery in these places limits options for developing affordable housing. The federal safety net provides good options for many rural residents struggling with housing costs, but the programs are often insufficiently funded to reach all residents in need. Policy makers and practitioners should consider innovative ways to improve and leverage existing housing stock in order to expand affordable, high-quality options for local working families

The Poverty-Reducing Effect of Five Key Government Programs in Rural and Urban America

In this brief, authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly explore the extent to which rural and urban residents access five social programs—Social Security, disability benefits, federal and state cash assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—and the effect of these programs individually and collectively in bringing family incomes closer to the poverty threshold. They report that these programs combined keep 11.5 percent of rural and 7.6 percent of urban residents out of poverty. Social Security is especially important: without it, poverty would increase by 4.4 percentage points in urban places and by 7.6 percentage points in rural places. These findings make clear that policymakers should consider how changes to eligibility or benefit levels, and investments in, different programs will yield varying results within and across places

Over 3 million low-income children in rural areas face cut in child tax credit if recovery act improvement expires

According to this new research, at the end of 2010, the Child Tax Credit improvements that were included in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will expire if Congress does not extend them. If this happens, low-income working families across America will be affected

Child Care Expenses Push Many Families Into Poverty

In this fact sheet, authors Marybeth Mattingly and Christopher Wimer use the Supplemental Poverty Measure to assess the extent to which child care costs are pushing families with young children into poverty or preventing them from escaping it. They focus on families with at least one child under age 6 who report any child care expenditures. They report that one third of poor families who pay for child care for their young children are pushed into poverty by their child care expenses. Families most often pushed into poverty by child care expenses include households with three or more children, those headed by a single parent, those with a black or Hispanic head of household, and those headed by someone with less than a high school degree or by someone who does not work full time. Their findings suggest that lowering out-of-pocket child care expenses for families with young children would serve to reduce poverty. Additionally, things like increased subsidies may expand access to higher quality child care or open the door to increased labor force participation

Unemployment insurance: a safety net for victims of intimate partner violence and their children

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that over 5 million intimate partner assaults are perpetrated against women each year, and they lose more than 8 million days of work annually. Expanding Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits to victims of domestic violence is one mechanism for supporting women as they seek to escape the violence in their lives