The recent Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansion, designed to uplift low-wage workers, currently leaves people behind when it should treat all workers equally. As the State prepares the fiscal year 2025 budget, the Healthy Families Tax Credit Coalition, led by Children’s HealthWatch requests tax equity by extending eligibility for the EITC to income-eligible working immigrants who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Immigrants who work in Massachusetts are a vital part of the economy. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center estimates that e ..read more

During Women’s History Month, we often reflect on and celebrate the achievements of women around the world, particularly in the face of unimaginable obstacles. While we’ve come a very long way, and every generation further cements the power and influence women can wield, there are still difficulties and expectations tied to gender and/or racial stereotypes women contend with—seemingly from birth. Even before I made my appearance into the world, it (and my parents) had already decided my purpose as a girl: I would (hopefully) be a God-fearing, smart, pretty, dutiful, selfless, obedient, goal-or ..read more

Originally published on State House News Service. Immigrant advocates on Thursday lobbied for expanded eligibility of a tax credit that’s seen as a key tool to prevent poverty and improve education outcomes among low-income households. About 21,000 to 26,000 households that are not currently eligible for the state Earned Income Tax Credit due to their immigration status stand to benefit from the expansion, according to the Healthy Families Tax Credits Coalition. At a briefing co-hosted by the legislative Black and Latino Caucus, supporters said the provision should be incorporated into the fis ..read more

Originally published in The New York Times. Hospitals can also use another key resource: their own land and property. Boston Medical Center and Trinity Health both have plans to build affordable housing complexes on their own properties. John Vu, Kaiser’s vice president of strategy for community health, said this was the first phase of fixing the housing problem. The next stage, he said, will use the data collected at the developments to determine how future partnerships can better address communities’ health and housing needs. Numerous studies by pediatric researchers and groups like Children ..read more

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a specific set of household-level adversities children may experience, including emotional and physical abuse, neglect, and other household stressors. Since the concept was first introduced in a 1998 study, thousands of studies spanning a variety of populations and countries have related ACEs to worse health. This includes a growing number of studies by Children’s HealthWatch and others showing intergenerational links between parents’ past exposure to ACEs and their children’s health. These findings have led to discussion about whether to screen for par ..read more

OBJECTIVES: Screening for parental adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in pediatric settings can be burdensome because of the questionnaire’s length and sensitive nature. Rapid screen- ing tools may help address these challenges. We evaluated a 2-item short ACE measure devel- oped for adults in a cross-sectional sample of mothers of young children in an urban pediatric emergency department. METHODS: From January 2011 to March 2020, we administered the ACE questionnaire in English or Spanish to 3999 biological mothers of children aged <4 years in a pediatric emergency de- partment in Phila ..read more

Abstract: This research examined VLFS in children among households with foreign-born (FB) mothers compared to US-born mothers through three research questions: Is mother’s foreign-born status (FBS) associated with VLFS in children, and can association be explained by mothers’ socio-demographic characteristics? Are FB mothers more or less likely to receive nutrition or non-nutrition assistance benefits, or work for pay than US-born mothers? Do mothers’ FBS, or protective/risk factors associated with FBS, modify associations of negative economic shocks and hardships with VLFS in children? Data ..read more

Like most little kids, I wished for superpowers when I was younger. Being able to do something otherworldly (ironically) appealed to my introverted personality as a way to stand out with a unique gift. Saturday cartoons, comic books, and other media provided pretty heady options to choose from; pyrokinesis, levitation, and telepathy among them. Of course, I eventually outgrew this childish fancy, but it recently occurred to me that I did unwittingly end up with a superpower, one bestowed by this country: invisibility. At least, that’s what I tell myself repeatedly in light of the backlash agai ..read more

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic brought increases in economic shocks due to poor health and lost employment, which reduced economic well-being, especially in households with children. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments to include eligibility for the lowest income households, boosted benefit levels, and provided monthly advance payments to households with children. Using Census Household Pulse Survey respondent data from January 2021 to July 2022, we evaluated the association between these advance CTC monthly payments and food insufficiency among hous ..read more

Originally published on The Brink. In 2021, Congress used the American Rescue Plan Act to dramatically expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which provides tax credits based on income level and the number of children per household. One goal was to blunt the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic–fueled recession. The expansion broadened eligibility to households with low or no income, increased credit amounts generally, and gave even larger credits to families with younger children, recognizing the extra expense needed to care for them. Importantly, half of the CTC was delivered as monthl ..read more