Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2022 poverty data, which offers insight into the state of income, earnings, income inequality, and poverty in the U.S. In response to the data, Kim Janey, former Mayor of Boston and president & CEO of Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath) – a nearly 200-year-old national nonprofit dedicated to dramatically improving the lives of people living in poverty – issued the following statement:

“The latest poverty data released today by the U.S. Census comes as no surprise: scaling back deep investments in social safety net programs, including the expanded Child Tax Credit, had a detrimental impact on families. The increase in the supplemental poverty rate by 4.6% and the child poverty rate by 7.2% - more than double from last year’s child poverty rate, and the largest jump in the child poverty rate since 2009 – is just the latest example that demonstrates how programs that provide direct cash assistance with no strings attached can significantly, and immediately, support families to move forward out of poverty. Last year’s data found that the expanded Child Tax Credit, in addition to stimulus payments and the Earned Income Tax Credit, significantly contributed to a reduction in the child poverty rate – down to 5.2 percent, the lowest rate ever recorded.

“With the increase in the child poverty rate, our country has truly turned its back on families. We’ve long known that poverty is a policy choice. Our government makes decisions that impact who and how many people live in poverty. Structural racism is entrenched in these decisions, resulting in policies that are designed to actively shut out families, particularly families of color, from moving ahead. Black children are disproportionately impacted by poverty, with the supplemental child poverty at 17.8% for Black children compared to 7.2% of white children.

“The glimmer of hope in today’s data is that we know there is indeed a way to tackle poverty in a meaningful way. At EMPath, we have a long history of working with families with low incomes and have seen firsthand how no-strings-attached cash assistance like the Child Tax Credit can propel families, including families of color, forward. And we can’t stop there. Poverty is complex and requires multi-faceted solutions. There are a myriad of other compounding issues facing our nation that we must tackle – from burdensome student loan debt, staggering levels of inflation, a housing crisis, and many states – including Massachusetts – seeing an increased number of migrants to shelter and support, among other issues.

“As we address our systemic issues, we must also look at long-term solutions to help families move beyond just meeting their basic needs to truly thriving. We hear time and time again from the families in our programs that they also desire guidance and support on how to leverage resources to achieve their long-term goals. We all need a mentor in life: to help set goals, strategize around how to achieve them, and tackle roadblocks. Approaches like our economic mobility coaching model – Mobility Mentoring^®, – have supported families to make great strides towards economic well-being.

“All children deserve the opportunity to succeed. To move families forward, we need bold action from our government across a number of issues, starting with the reinstatement of the Child Tax Credit. This is critical to providing families with the level of support they both need and deserve to ensure their children can live healthy and fulfilling lives.”