Nearly 700 children in Wasatch County live below the poverty line. In Summit County, it's almost 600. The American Rescue Plan of 2021 addresses childhood poverty across the board, including here in the Wasatch Back.
The poverty numbers derive from 2019 census data. Currently, a three-person household making $21,960 is below the poverty line. The Early Childhood Alliance Director Kristen Schulz said the U.S. poverty line is shockingly low.
"In other words, if you make $22,000 to support you and your two children, you are not considered to be in poverty, under the poverty level. It's very, very low. You'll see a lot of the programs that go up to 200% of poverty because it's it doesn't really capture all of the people who are going to need some public assistance."
Under the rescue plan, Schulz said 94% of Utah children would benefit from tax credit payments of $3,600 per child up to age six and $3,000 per child six to 17 years old.
Schulz supports extending the payments permanently and hopes some of the draft plans circulating in Congress will do that.
"You look at those statistics, and you can find studies that vary between, $7 you know, is return on investment, for every dollar invested up to $13,” she said. “But it is unquestionably a very good investment to invest early, and the reality is, children are expensive and society, as a whole, benefits when our children benefit. So, to me it makes great sense to invest in the children. There is no requirement on how these funds are spent; I think a lot of people are pleased to see that in some respects."
President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law on March 11. Projections suggest over 90% of U.S. children will benefit from the plan, with a 56% reduction in childhood poverty overall.
KPCW news reports on issues affecting children ages 0 through three years old are brought to you by the Early Childhood Fund at the Park City Community Foundation.
