child poverty

February 4, 2022 - The expanded child tax credit lifted millions of children out of poverty but expired because the closely divided U.S. Senate failed to renew it as part of the Build Back Better Act, which was opposed by Republicans and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. As talks continue, Manchin has signaled he might be open to renewing the expanded credit with more limited eligibility and a work requirement, but anti-poverty advocates oppose those conditions.

September 24, 2021 - Earlier this year, Congress approved expanding the child tax credit and paying it out in advance as part of the American Rescue Plan economic stimulus bill. As Democrats discuss extending the credit, advocates argue that making it permanent would slash child poverty rates, which are especially high across the South.

September 18, 2015 - This week the Census Bureau announced the U.S. poverty rate remained virtually unchanged from 2013 to 2014 despite improving employment numbers. Economic justice advocates across the South discuss what they're doing to address the problem of persistent economic inequality.

August 27, 2015 - Ten years after the New Orleans school system fired all its teachers and instituted near universal charter schools in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, test scores and graduation rates are up — but the gains have come with downsides. As other states attempt to replicate its model, there's much to learn from New Orleans.

August 20, 2015 - We know school desegregation narrowed the racial achievement gap and dramatically improved the intergenerational mobility of black students in the South. So why isn't anyone talking about the importance of desegregating schools?

August 7, 2015 - The paucity of public and private investment in the rural South has caused outsized harm to African-American women and girls, but organizing efforts are underway to help them become leaders in building a more prosperous and just future for their communities.

July 24, 2015 - A new study finds that child poverty has risen nationally, with over a quarter of children in the South living below the poverty line. But the region has also seen improvements in child health insurance coverage and in educational achievement.