An SOS to the incoming administration for America’s children and families

Children do not vote, so it is easy to deprioritize their needs. But adults in their families do, and many of them hope Donald Trump and the Republican party can reduce financial burdens so that they can comfortably raise children. President-elect Trump will now have a chance to push legislation through Congress that can lower prices for all Americans and especially working families. As he said during the debate, “people can’t go out and buy cereal or bacon or eggs or anything else.”

While the president doesn’t control prices in our free market economy, the incoming administration does have some clear policy levers to pull. If enacted, these policies could reduce the financial strains for many American families, especially those raising children. A focus on the child tax credit, paid family leave, and child care are all excellent starting points that would reduce costs for families and make a huge positive impact on their lives. As Surgeon General Vivek Murthy pointed out, parents’ stress levels about money and other hardships as they raise children are at a crisis point, so policies that help families need to be developed now.

Child Tax Credit (CTC)

The one year expansion of the CTC in 2021 from the American Rescue Plan reduced child poverty to a historic low of 5.2%, which then rebounded to 12.4% in 2022 and 13.7% in 2023 once this expansion expired. VP-elect JD Vance has suggested reinstating and expanding the CTC and increasing it to $5,000. Research shows that 91% of lower income families used their monthly payments to cover their basic household expenses and education costs. That is, families did not squander the funds they received but used them to support the nutrition and health of their children.

Paid leave

In a 2019 UNICEF study on the “family friendliness” of 40 developed countries, “the US came in dead last in terms of paid leave available to [parents].” Only 13 states and the District of Columbia have paid leave for new parents. Ivanka Trump, Senator Marco Rubio, and others championed a paid leave policy for federal government employees. Yet, by 2023, only 27% of all American workers had access to paid leave and many also did not have job security through the unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act.  This means that workers depend on the decisions of their employers. Without paid leave, workers ─female workers in particular─ often need to return to work within weeks of childbirth, requiring them to hire paid child care support or risk losing their jobs. Twelve weeks of paid leave for biological and adopted children is the minimum to enable workers to have time to bond with and care for their children while not having to worry about the ability to purchase necessary goods.  Some of our peer countries offer 6 months to 1 year or more of full or partial family paid leave.

Comprehensive and affordable quality child care

Child care is a hot topic for many families as more than 50% of them have dual incomes and require support for caring for their children. For those that use outside support for their children, the average cost nationally is $11,582 per child, which is between 8-19.3% of the average family income. Whether families choose family-based, formal day care, religious centers, or other places and people to care for their children, the fact remains that there continues to exist a child care desert in many parts of our country, where demand far outstrips supply. There are many ideas and competing views on how to solve this challenge. Many states have tried mixed model delivery systems that enable parents to choose among various options and select the one that best meets their needs. This would be a place to start in developing a national comprehensive child care policy that allows families the freedom to make decisions about the care of their children that align with their needs and values.   

If the incoming government intends to keep its commitment to reducing financial burdens on families and improving the lives of our country’s children, implementing these policies would be an excellent start.