Child Investment Research Hub

Children make up approximately one-quarter of the U.S. population and all our nation’s future. Ample evidence confirms that investing in children results in near and long-term positive outcomes for them and the country’s overall economy, yet First Focus on Children’s annual Children’s Budget illustrates they historically have not received anywhere close to their fair share of government funds.

We have seen the game-changing, positive outcomes stemming from increased resources dedicated to children and families. Improvements made to the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan Act nearly cut the U.S. child poverty rate in half in 2021 and reduced racial economic disparities. Despite the success and popularity of the Child Tax Credit payments, they expired at the end of 2021.

The fight continues to reinstate improvements to the Child Tax Credit and increase overall investments for children. The evidence is on our side, and it is a critical tool in building the political will needed for lasting progress.

As a result, First Focus on Children created the Child Investment Research Hub, as a one-stop-shop where child advocates and decision-makers can access the full array of research available on the positive consequences of investing in our children.

We will be updating this resource as frequently as possible. Please send any feedback to Cara Baldari at carab@wordpressmu-1207585-4417844.cloudwaysapps.com letting us know how this hub can be most useful to your work or if you see any resources missing from this list.

U.S. Census Bureau: Child poverty more than doubled in 2022

• First Focus press release on new data
• Official Report from U.S. Census Bureau

Categories of Research:

• Child Development
• Child Welfare
• Employment Outcomes
• Family Economic Mobility
• Health and Nutrition
• Long-Term Child Outcomes
• State / Local Impact

Updated as of September 12, 2023

• State-Level Macro-Economic Factors Moderate the Association of Income with Brain Structure and Mental Health in U.S. Children
  Nature Communications Weissman, David G.; Hatzenbuehler, Mark L.; Cikara, Mina; Barch, Deanna M.;McLaughlin, Katie A. | May 2023
• Does Unconditional Cash during Pregnancy Affect Infant Health?
  Social Science Research Network Georgetown University, McCourt School of Public Policy Ruffini, Krista | March 2023
• Effects of the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit on Adults’ Mental Health: A Quasi-Experimental Study
  Health Affairs Batra, Akansha; Jackson, Kaitlyn; Hamad, Rita | January 2023
• Evaluation of New Mexico State University’s 100% New Mexico Initiative
  Chapin Hall McCrae, Julie S.; Spain, Angeline K.; Rivera, Saúl | April 2022
• Twenty Year Outcomes of an Unconditional Cash Transfer
  Copeland, William E.; Tong, Guangyu; Gaydosh, Lauren; Hill, Sherika; Godwin, Jennifer; Shanahan, Lilly; Costello, Elizabeth | March 2022
• The Impact of a Poverty Reduction Intervention on Infant Brain Activity
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Troller-Renfree, Sonya V.; Costanzo, Molly A.; Dunan, Greg J.; Magnuson, Katherine; Gennetian, Lisa A.; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Halpern-Meekin, Sarah; Fox, Nathan A.; Noble, Kimberly G. | December 2021
• The Case for a Universal Child Allowance in the United States
  Cornell Policy Review VerValin, Joe | October 2018
• State of the Art Review: Poverty and the Developing Brain
  Johnson, Sara B.; Riis, Jenna L; Noble, Kimberly G. | April 2016
• Family Income, Parental Education and brain structure in Children and Adolescents
  Nature Neuroscience Noble, Kimberly G. et al. | March 2015
• Income, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Infant Health
  American Economic Association Hoynes, Hilary; Miller, Doug; Simon, David | February 2015
• Family Poverty Affects the Rate of Human Infant Brain Growth
  NIH, National Library of Medicine Hanson, Jamie J.; Hair, Nicole; Shen, Dinggang G; Shi, Feng; Gilmore, John H.; Wolfe, Barbara L.; Pollak, Seth D. | December 2013
• Investment in Early Childhood Development Lays the Foundation for a Prosperous and Sustainable Society
  Shonkoff, Jack P. | December 2009
• Building a New Biodevelopmental Framework to Guide the Future of Early Childhood Policy
  Harvard University Shonkoff, Jack P. | December 1899

• Child and Family Well-Being System: Economic & Concrete Supports as a Core Component
  Chapin Hall | March 2023
• The Effects of Child Poverty Reductions on Child Protective Services Involvement
  The University of Chicago Pac, Jessica; Collyer, Sophie; Berger, Lawrence; O’Brien, Kirk, Parker, Elizabeth; Pecora, Peter; Rostad, Whitney; Waldfogel, Jane; Wimer, Christopher | February 2023
• Income and Child Maltreatment: Evidence from a Discontinuity in Tax Benefits
  Rittenhouse, Katherine | November 2022
• Short-Term Effects of Tax Credits on Rates of Child Maltreatment Reports in the United States
  Pediatrics Kovski, Nicole L.; Hill, Heather D.; Mooney, Stephen J.; Rivara, Frederick P.; Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali | June 2022
• Systemically Neglected: How Racism Structures Public Systems to Produce Childhood Neglect
  Center for the Study of Social Policy Minoff, Elisa and Citrin, Alexandra | March 2022

• Work Requirements: What Are They? Do They Work?
  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | May 2023
• Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit on Employment Outcomes: Evidence from Real-World Data from April to December 2021
  Ananat, Elizabeth; Glasner, Benjamin; Hamilton, Christal; Parolin, Zachary | March 2022
• The Expanded Child Tax Credit and Parental Employment: Tenuous Evidence Points to Work Disincentives
  Jain Family Institute Landry, Jack | February 2022
• The Effects of Child Tax Benefits on Poverty and Labor Supply: Evidence from the Canada Child Benefit and Universal Child Care Benefit
  National Bureau of Economic Research Baker, Michael; Messacar, Derek; Stabile, Mark | March 2021
• The Labor Market Impacts of Universal and Permanent Cash Transfers: Evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund
  National Bureau of Economic Research Jones, Damon and Marinescu, Ioana | January 2020
• Niskanen Report: Toward a Universal Child Benefit
  Niskanen Center Hammond, Samuel and Orr, Robert | October 2016

• Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit on Household Spending: Estimates Based on U.S. Consumer Expediture Survey Data
  Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University Schild, Jake; Collyer, Sophie M.; Garner, Thesia; Kaushal, Neeraj; Lee, Jiwan; Waldfogel, Jane; Wimer, Christopher T. | June 2023
• Expanding the Child Tax Credit Would Help 60 Million Kids, Especially Those in Families with Low Incomes
  Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Hughes, John | June 2023
• Let Us Rise: How Parents and Caregivers Would Design a Permanent Child Allowance to Advance Racial and Economic Justice
  Center for the Study of Social Policy Minoff, Elisa | May 2023
• The Antipoverty Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit Across States: Where Were the Historic Reductions Felt?
  Hamilton Project Hardy, Bradley L.; Collyer, Sophie M.; Wimer, Christopher T. | March 2023
• It Helped Us More Than I Ever Could Have Imagined”: How the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit Supported Families Raising Children with Disabilities
  Boston University School of Social Work, Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, Catalyst Center Brugger, Laura; Roll, Stephen; Hamilton, Leah; Baughman, Allyson; Comeau, Meg; Jarzombek, Candace; Parker, Caroline | March 2023
• Real-Time Poverty, Material Well-Being, and the Child Tax Credit
  National Bureau of Economic Research Han, Jeehoon; Meyer, Bruce D.; Sullivan, James X. | December 2022
• Research Roundup of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: One Year On
  Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University Curran, Megan A. | November 2022
• The 2021 Child Tax Credit Expansion: Child Poverty Reduction and the Children Formerly Left Behind
  Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University Wimer, Christopher; Collyer, Sophie; Harris, David; Lee, Jiwan | November 2022
• State Child Tax Credits and Child Poverty: A 50-State Analysis
  Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University on behalf of Share Our Strength Collyer, Sophie; Curran, Megan; Davis, Aidan; Harris, David; Wimer, Christopher | November 2022
• The Child Tax Credit & Family Economic Security: Findings from the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Survey of Families with Children
  Center for the Study of Social Policy Blount, David and Minoff, Elisa | October 2022
• Census Data Shows Need to Make 2021 Child Tax Credit Expansion Permanent
  Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Hughes, John | September 2022
• How Parents Use the Child Tax Credit, and Implications of Ended Monthly Payments Key Findings, July 2022 Continental U.S. Survey
  Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) Burnside, Ashley; Fuller, Bruce; and Zhang, Qifan | September 2022
• Puerto Rican Parents Claiming the Child Tax Credit, and Spending Payments Towards Necessities and Education
  Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) Burnside, Ashley; Fuller, Bruce; and Zhang, Qifan | September 2022
• Unconditional Cash and Family Investments in Infants: Evidence from a Large-Scale Cash Transfer Experiment in the U.S.
  Gennetian, Lisa A.; Duncan, Greg; Fox, Nathan A.; Magnuson, Katherine; Halpern-Meekin, Sarah; Noble, Kimberly G.; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu | August 2022
• The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit Give Temporary Income Boost to Low-Income Families
  Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy Parolin, Zachary; Collyer, Sophie; Curran, Megan A. | May 2022
• How Child Tax Credit Payments Affected Families with Young Children
  RAPID Survey | April 2022
• The Impacts of the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit on Family Employment, Nutrition, and Financial Well-Being
  Brookings Institution Hamilton, Leah; Roll, Stephen; Despard, Mathieu; Maag, Elaine; Chun, Yung; Brugger, Laura; Grinstein-Weiss, Michal | April 2022
• The Expanded Child Tax Credit is Helping Families, but National Survey Shows Continued Outreach Remains Essential
  Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) | April 2022
• Rural-Urban Differences in Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences
  Rural Health Research Gateway | March 2022
• The Role of Government Transfers in the Black-White Poverty Gap
  Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University | March 2022
• Who Beneftis from the Child Tax Credit?
  University of Chicago Goldin, Jacob and Michelmore, Katherine | January 2022
• The Child Tax Credit is Buffering Families from Financial Hardship
  RAPID Survey | December 2021
• October Child Tax Credit Payment Kept 3.6 Million Children from Poverty
  Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University | November 2021
• Who Has Received Advance Child Tax Credit Payments, and How Were the Payments Used?
  Urban Institute Karpman, Michael; Maag, Elaine; Kenney, Genevieve; Wissoker, Douglas | November 2021
• Are Black and Latine Families with Babies Feeling Relief from the Child Tax Credit?
  Equity Research Action Coalition UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute Iruka, Iheoma U.; Bathia, Dharini; Suggs, Milton; Hunter-Rainey, Sharrion; Forte, Alexandra; Camero, Danay; Liy, Adis; Sims; Jacqueline | November 2021
• Second Child Tax Credit Payment Keeps 3.5 Million Children Out of Poverty
  Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University Parolin, Zachary and Curran, Megan A. | September 2021
• Expanding the Child Tax Credit Could Lift Millions of Children out of Poverty
  Urban Institute Acs, Gregory and Werner, Kevin | September 2021
• Employment, Financial and Well-being Effects of the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit
  Washington University in St. Louis, Social Policy Institute Hamilton, Leah; Roll, Stephen; Despard, Mathieu; Maag, Elaine; Chun, Yung | September 2021
• Measuring the Child Tax Credit’s Economic and Community Impact
  Niskanen Center Hammond, Samuel and Orr, Robert | August 2021
• How a Permanent Expansion of the Child Tax Credit Could Affect Poverty
  Urban Institute Acs, Gregory and Werner, Kevin | July 2021
• Matching Time to Need: Refundable Tax Credit Disbursement Options
  Center on Poverty and Inequality, Georgetown Law Holt, Steve; Grant, Kali; Aderonmu, Funke | November 2020
• Supporting Children and Families Through the Pandemic, and After: The Case for a US Child Allowance
  Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University and Center for the Study of Social Policy Curran, Megan A. and Minoff. Elisa | August 2020
• What a Child Allowance Like Canada’s Would Do for Child Poverty in America
  The Century Foundation Collyer, Sophie; Curran, Megan A.; Garfinkel, Irwin; Harris, David; Waldfogel, Jane; Wimer, Christopher | July 2020
• A Better Child Tax Credit During the COVID-19 Crisis
  The Century Foundation Curran, Megan A. | May 2020
• New Analysis from CDF: Why the Child Tax Credit Must be Expanded to Fight Child Poverty During and Beyond this Pandemic
  Children’s Defense Fund Emma Mehrabi | May 2020
• Economic Security in Good Times and Bad: Why We Need a Child Allowance
  Center for the Study of Social Poliicy | March 2020
• Comparing Recent Income Maintenance Proposals
  Columbia University Center on Poverty & Social Policy Hartley, Robert Paul and Garfinkel, Irwin | February 2020
• A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty Summary
  National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine | July 2019
• Implementing a Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty
  First Focus Campaign for Children | June 2019
• Left Behind: The One-Third of Children in Families Who Earn Too Little to Get the Full Child Tax Credit
  Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy and Children’s Research and Education Institute Collyer, Sophie; Harris, David; Wimer, Christopher | May 2019
• Ending Child Poverty Now
  Children’s Defense Fund | April 2019
• Kids’ Share July 2018: Report on Federal Expenditures on Children through 2017 and Future Projections
  Urban Institute Isaacs, Julia B.; Lou, Cary; Hahn, Heather; Hong, Ashley; Quakenbush, Caleb; Steurle, C. Eugene | July 2018
• Estimating the Economic Cost of Childhood Poverty in the United States
  Social Work Research McLaughlin, Michael and Rank, Mark R. | June 2018
• A Child Allowance: The Big Antipoverty Impacts of Small Amounts of Cash
  The Century Foundation Stettner, Andrew | April 2018
• A Universal Child Allowance: A Plan to Reduce Poverty and Income Instability among Children in the United States
  Russell Sage Foundation Shaefer, H. Luke; Collyer, Sophie; Duncan, Greg; Edin, Kathryn; Garfinkel, Irwin; Harris, David; Smeeding, Timothy M.; Waldfogel, Jane; Wimer, Christopher; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu | February 2018
• Cash Assistance and Tax Credits: Critical Support for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  ZERO TO THREE | October 2017
• Family Tax Policy: A Path Forward to Lifting Children out of Poverty
  U.S. Child Poverty Action Group | March 2017
• Effective Policy for Reducing Poverty and Inequality? The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Distribution of Income
  Hoynes, Hilary W. and Patel, Ankur J. | November 2016
• Doing More for Our Children: Modeling a Universal Child Allowance or More Generous Child Tax Credit
  The Century Foundation Garfinkel, Irwin; Harris, David; Waldfogel, Jane; Wimer, Christopher | March 2016
• Catching Up on the Cost of Raising Children: Creating an American Child Allowance
  First Focus Curran, Megan A. | March 2015
• Tackling Poverty Through the Implementation of a Child Allowance Program
  First Focus Matthew Brunenig | March 2015
• Redistribution and Tax Expenditures: the Earned Income Tax Credit
  Eissa, Nada and Hoynes, Hilary | June 2011
• Building Family Economic Success: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
  The Annie E. Casey Foundation | August 2005
• Key Findings from the National Child Tax Credit Survey: CTC Monthly Payments are Helping Improve Family Well-Being\
  Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) Burnside, Ashley | December 1899

• Changes in Self-Reported Adult Health and Household Food Security with the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit Monthly Payments
  JAMA Network Rook, Jordan M.; Yama, Cecile L.; Schickedanz, Adam B.; et al. | June 2023
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Vital Resource for Children, Youth, and Families
  Center for the Study of Social Policy Minoff, Elisa | June 2023
• The Effects of Cash Transfers on Adult and Child Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
  Nature Richterman, Alan; Millien, Christophe; Bair, Elizabeth F.; Jerome, Gregory; Suffrin, Jean Christophe Dimitri; Behrman, Jere R.; Thirumurthy, Harsha | May 2023
• Association of the Expiration of Child Tax Credit Advance Payments with Food Insufficiency in US Households
  JAMA Network Bovell-Ammon, Allison; McCann, Nicole C.; Mulugeta, Martha; Ettinger de Cuba, Stephanie; Raifman, Julia; Shafer, Paul | October 2022
• The Effects of Income on the Economic Wellbeing of Families with Low Incomes: Evidence from the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credits
  Pilkauskas, Natasha; Michelmore, Katherine; Kovski, Nicole; Shaefer, H. Luke | October 2022
• The Differential Effects of Monthly and Lump-Sum Child Tax Credit Payments on Food and Housing Hardship
  Parolin, Zachary; Ananat, Elizabeth; Collyer, Sophie; Curran, Megan; Wimer, Christopher | September 2022
• Food Insufficiency in Families with Children Increased After Expiration of Child Tax Credit Monthly Payments
  Children’s Health Watch Bovell-Ammon, Allison; McCann, Nicole; Mulugeta, Martha; Ettinger de Cuba, Stephanie; Raifman, Julia; Shafer, Paul | April 2022
• The 2021 Child Tax Credit: Implications for Health
  Health Affairs Maag, Elaine | February 2022
• The Initial Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit on Material Hardship
  Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University | August 2021
• The Real Value of SNAP Benefits and Health Outcomes
  Hoynes, Hilary; Bronchetti, Erin; Christensen, Garret | January 2017
• Mediators and Adverse Effects of Child Poverty in the United States
  Pascoe, John M.; Wood, David L.; Duffee, James H.; Kuo, Alice | April 2016

• Is the Social Safety Net a Long Term Investment? Large-Scale Evidence from the Food Stamps Program
  The Review of Economic Studies Bailey, Martha J.; Hoynes, Hilary; Rossin-Slater, Maya; Walker, Reed | June 2023
• Magnolia Mother’s Trust Alumni Study Report: A Dual-Generational Examination of the Long-Term Impacts of Guaranteed Income
  Social Insights Research Moore, Asia; Ebba, Christyl Wilson; Karim, Nidal; Rowe-Harriott, Sashana; Campos, Stephanie | April 2023
• The Benefits and Costs of a Child Allowance
  Garfinkel, Irwin; Sariscany, Laurel; Ananat, Elizabeth; Collyer, Sophie; Hartley, Robert P.; Wang, Buyi; Wimer, Christopher | September 2022
• Investing in Infants: The Lasting Effects of Cash Transfers to New Families
  Barr, Andrew C.; Eggleston, Jonathan; Smith, Alexander A. | August 2022
• Reducing Child Poverty Can Promote Children’s Development and Productivity in Adulthood
  SRCD Duncan, Greg J. and Hoynes, Hilary | October 2021
• Effect of the Jamaica Early Childhood Stimulation Intervention on Labor Market Outcomes at Age 31
  National Bureau of Economic Research Gertler, Paul; Heckman, James J.; Pinto, Rodrigo; Chang, Susan M.; Grantham-McGregor, Sally; Vermeersch, Christel; Walker, Susan; Wright, Amika | September 2021
• A United Welfare Analysis of Government Policies
  Harvard University Hendren, Nathan and Sprung-Keyser, Ben | February 2020
• The Long-Term Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Children’s Educational and Employment Outcomes
  Bastian, Jacob and Michelmore, Katherine | October 2018
• Long-Run Impacts of Childhood Access to the Safety Net
  American Economic Review Hoynes, Hilary; Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore; Almond, Douglas | April 2016
• EITC and Child Tax Credit Promote Work, Reduce Poverty, and Support Children’s Development, Research Finds
  Marr, Chuck; Huang, Chye-Ching; Sherman, Arloc; Debot, Brandon | October 2015
• Using Differences in Knowledge Across Neighborhoods to Uncover the Impacts of the EITC on Earnings
  Chetty, Raj; Friedman, John N.; Saez, Emmanuel | December 2013
• The Impact of Family Income on Child Achievement: Evidence from the Earned Income Tax Credit
  American Economic Review Dahl, Gordon B. and Lochner, Lance | August 2012
• The Long Reach of Early Childhood Poverty
  Duncan, Greg J. and Magnuson, Katherine | December 2011
• Does Money Really Matter? Estimating Impacts of Family Income on Young Children’s Achievement with Data from Random-Assignment Experiments
  Duncan, Greg J.; Morris, Pamela A.; Rodrigues, Chris | September 2011
• Parents’ Incomes and Children’s Outcomes: A Quasi-Experiment
  NIH, National Library of Medicine Akee, Randall K.Q.; Copeland, William E.; Keeler, Gordon; Angold, Adrian; Costello, Elizabeth J. | June 2010

• How a Permanent Expansion of the Child Tax Credit Could Affect Poverty, Gregory Acs and Kevin Werner, Urban Institute | July 2021
• How Much Would Child Poverty Reduce in Each State if Every Eligible Person Received Safety Net Benefits? Linda Giannarelli, Sarah Minton, Laura Wheaton, and Sarah Knowles, Urban Institute | August 15, 2023
• Year-End Tax Policy Priority: Expand the Child Tax Credit for the 19 Million Children Who Receive Less Than the Full Credit, Chuck Marr, Kris Cox, Sarah Calame, Stephanie Hingtgen, George Fenton, and Arloc Sherman, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities | December 7, 2022
• The Antipoverty Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit across States: Where were the Historic Reductions Felt? Bradley Hardy, Sophie Collyer, and Christopher Wimer, Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institute | March 2023
• Report: Measuring the Child Tax Credit’s Economic and Community Impact, Sammuel Hammond, Robert Orr, Niskanen Center, August 2, 2021
• Refundable Tax Credits a Winning Policy Choice Again in 2023, Neva Butkus, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy | July 7, 2023
• State Child Tax Credits and Child Poverty: A 50-State Analysis, Aidan Davis, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy | November 16, 2022
• Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation