Pandemic-era child tax credit lowered anxiety and increased food security, stable housing among young children, but excluded many low-income, immigrant families
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Jul-2025 07:11 ET (12-Jul-2025 11:11 GMT/UTC)
A new study published in JAMA Network Open found that parents/caregivers who received the CTC were less likely to experience anxiety, food insecurity, and unstable housing, as those who were previously behind on rent were more likely to be able to resume payments. Previous studies have demonstrated a connection among the expanded CTC, food security, and housing stability during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this longitudinal study of more than 5,800 parent-child dyads assessed families’ health and economic circumstances over time—before and during the pandemic—focusing on caregivers with very young children. The majority of children of caregivers in the study group were under two years old before the pandemic, and the rest of the children were under four years old, compared to the under-18 age group assessed in similar research.
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