Is childhood poverty something that can actually be solved? Yes, and here’s how.

Poverty is bad—that’s something we can all understand and agree on. 

One out of every five children in Tennessee is living in poverty—that’s something we can all agree is heartbreaking. Due to no fault of their own, simply based on the family they were born into, 20 percent of Tennessee’s children are facing an uphill battle with every facet of life—from education to health outcomes to lifelong earning prospects.   

But childhood poverty is such a complex problem. Is it something that can actually be solved? Moreover, what can any of us as individuals actually do about it?    

Most of us are not policy wonks. Most of us don’t have time to follow every ebb and flow of political debate as government budgets take shape and legislation gets passed. We’re all busy with our own jobs and families.  

But as a country—and especially here in Tennessee—we have a real opportunity to lift families with children out of poverty and in doing so, change the trajectory of not only individual lives, but entire communities. And we can all play a role in making it happen.  

Last month, shortly after the legislative session for the Tennessee General Assembly kicked off, we invited legislators from across the state to hear from parents who are struggling in the current economic environment. We called this parent panel discussion “Seeding Family Prosperity in Tennessee.” Both poverty and prosperity are generational—passed down from parents to their children, from one generation to the next. When we invest in the lives of parents with young children, we are sowing a seed of family prosperity. 

Tennessee Sen. Bo Watson. R-Hixson, and Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, hosted the panel discussion event. When they asked our parent panelists what challenges they’re facing to achieve economic security, the answers we heard were illuminating: better access to affordable, high-quality childcare, better access to healthcare, and better access to financial assistance programs that help parents care for their children. These are exactly the types of upstream public policies and programs that we know are proven to break cycles of poverty and trauma. 

The following week, right after our parent panel discussion, Sen. Watson introduced the Tennessee Opportunity Act, which seeks to use surplus TANF funds to provide a concentrated investment of evidence-based supports for families with children in communities that are committed to making generational change.     

At the same time this major policy shift is being discussed here in Tennessee, the latest economic stimulus package proposed by President Joe Biden has a provision that actual policy wonks say could cut childhood poverty in this country in half. 

The American Rescue Plan, as it’s being called, would make the child tax credit fully available to low-income families that need the financial assistance the most. Right now, the child tax credit is only available as a deduction, meaning if you pay less in taxes than the full benefit, you don’t receive the rest of the money. This expansion of the child tax credit would change that, providing families with the lowest incomes with $250-$300 in direct financial assistance per child each month. 

That’s money they can use to pay for childcare or housing or food—all things children need to avoid the life-altering trauma of poverty as they grow up. 

So back to you, and the role you can play in all of this: The issue of childhood poverty is complex, yes. But we know the types of public investments that can solve it, and we have real opportunities to see those investments happen here in Tennessee and across the country. Your elected officials just need to know that you support these efforts. 

While we wish that sound policy research was enough to sway our government leaders, the reality is that public input and public opinion always play a large role in the decisions they make. Tell Gov. Bill Lee, Sen. Watson and his legislative colleagues that you support the Tennessee Opportunity Act. Tell your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators from Tennessee that you support the expanded child tax credit in the American Rescue Plan. 

You have an important role in making this critical change in our society actually happen, because it takes all of us, working together, to raise the next generation.