Abstract
In this brief, Jess Carson explores the poverty-reducing effects of key federal safety net programs among 18-24 year old (“young adult”) parents. An estimated 2.5 million very young children live with a young adult parent, with low-income children especially likely to do so. The brief finds that more than four in five young adult parents, regardless of income, participate in at least one major safety net program. Of these, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the most widely used and the most effective at reducing poverty under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, and poverty would increase by 6.7 percentage points without the EITC. Continued efforts to expand and support access to the EITC can provide young families with a key source of poverty-alleviating income.
Department
Carsey School of Public Policy
Publication Date
Spring 3-31-2020
Series
National Issue Brief No. 146
Publisher
Durham, N.H. : Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Carson, Jessica A., "The Poverty-Reducing Effects of the EITC and Other Safety Nets for Young Adult Parents" (2020). The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository. 394.
https://scholars.unh.edu/carsey/394
Rights
Copyright 2020. Carsey School of Public Policy. These materials may be used for the purposes of research, teaching, and private study. For all other uses, contact the copyright holder.
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.34051/p/2020.396