Childhood Poverty Is Not a Moral Failure, It's a Policy Choice.

1401 N Charles St,Baltimore MD 21201

15 November, 2022

Description

CFCC will host The Maryland Child Alliance an advocacy organization fighting to reduce and eventually eliminate child poverty in the state of Maryland and beyond. We believe that people are the experts of their own lives and that cash transfers are the most efficient way for families to fulfill their needs. Register now to join us for this free event, on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 from 6 - 7:30 pm at the University of Baltimore Law Center. Nate Golden, Stephanie Franklin, and Windy Davis will lead the conversation to educate as many people as we can about this legislative proposal and how a child cash transfer could benefit people if we’re able to pass a law that creates it. Maryland is the richest state in the richest country that has ever existed. Yet, across the state, more than 1 in 7 kids live in poverty. In Baltimore City, where the child poverty rates are highest, the rate is 1 in 3. Child poverty does not only affect those directly experiencing it; it impacts the wider community. Research has shown that child poverty increases crime rates, swells health care costs, worsens educational outcomes and shrinks our overall economy. One reason that child poverty rates are so high across the United States is that our federal safety net intentionally leaves out the most vulnerable. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) both exclude the poorest families from the full credit. For its own part, Maryland also misses these families by blindly matching the federal EITC and guaranteeing no financial support to families. Federal pandemic relief programs showed that there is a better way. In March 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan, Democrats increased the CTC amount, expanded eligibility to include the poorest families, and started cutting monthly checks to parents across the income distribution. As a result, child poverty fell more than 25%. Had Congress not let the program expire at the beginning of the year, it would have cut child poverty almost in half. Now, with the expanded CTC gone, millions of children, including thousands across Maryland, have plummeted back into poverty. The Maryland Child Alliance has built tools demonstrating how state lawmakers can reverse this trend and lift thousands of children out of poverty across the state. For example, our model estimates that a $200 monthly child allowance (a policy that sends parents a monthly check per child) would cut child poverty by 34% across the state, lifting more than 55,000 kids out of poverty including more than 10,000 in Baltimore City alone. The data is clear: Child poverty is not just a moral failure, it’s a policy choice. We have the tools and resources to reduce and eventually eliminate child poverty in the state of Maryland. The purpose of this event is to bring impacted parents, policymakers and key stakeholders together to ensure that the 2023 legislative session prioritizes anti-child poverty legislation. We hope to see you there, Nate Golden and Shanta Trivedi Nate Golden (he/him) is a teacher with Baltimore City Public Schools and the president of Maryland Child Alliance, an advocacy organization fighting to reduce and eventually eliminate child poverty in the state of Maryland and beyond. While Nate has spent the past five years working full-time in the classroom, he has also been heavily involved in policy and advocacy. Most recently Nate worked as a policy analyst at the UBI Center where he focused his research on anti-poverty policies. Stephanie S. Franklin is the President and CEO of the Franklin Law Group, P.C., a child welfare law firm in Baltimore that advocates for abused and neglected children. Stephanie has practiced in child welfare for 23 years and is a leading voice on race equity in child welfare spaces—known for her historical depth and racial “truth-telling.” She facilitates race equity training nationally and challenges the current thinking and narrative concerning race in child welfare spaces. Stephanie serves as co-counsel for plaintiffs in the L.J. v. Massinga federal classaction lawsuit, protecting the civil rights of approximately 2,000 Baltimore City foster youth. Windy Davis is a Parent advocate for the Maryland Office of Public Defenders. Windy works with parents whose children have been removed from their care. One of Windy's roles is to advocate and support the parents with accomplishing their goals while also assisting them in navigating the Family Welfare System. Windy is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Registered Peer Supervisor, Certified Community Health Worker, and a Roper Alumni . In September 2022 Windy was presented with the Carroll Conquest Peer Leadership Award in recognition for her outstanding commitment to the Baltimore Recovery community. Most of all Windy takes pride in the work that she does and being a person with lived experience motivates her even more to support and advocate for individuals. Growing up witnessing her parents struggle to take care of herself and her 7 siblings, gave her the drive and determination to let her voice be heard and share her experience, strength, and hope with others who had those same struggles that she identifies with.