Studies: Economic Security Programs Increase Long-Term Economic Self-Sufficiency for Low-Income Children
A research review of more than sixty studies suggests long-term benefits.
by Dan Paley Oct 3, 2017
Government economic security programs such as food assistance, housing subsidies, and working-family tax credits help children do better in school, improve their health, and lead to economic self-sufficiency in adulthood.
This is the conclusion of an exhaustive research review of more than sixty studies assembled by ESSPRI affiliate, Arloc Sherman, and his colleague, Tazra Mitchell, at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
According to Sherman and Mitchell, the studies find that income support on top of a family’s earnings provides the very things children need in order to thrive, such as nutritious food, safe homes and neighborhoods, and transportation to doctors. In addition to income assistance, tax credits available to working families, such as the EITC, “boost children’s school achievement, chances of attending college, and health outcomes.” Other programs such as food stamps reduce hunger, food insecurity, and stress, while housing vouchers reduce “overcrowding, homelessness, and frequent moves that result in disruptive school changes.”
That such economic security policies improve the well-being of children during childhood comes as no surprise; these programs help families put food on the table, pay rent, and afford basic necessities. But what is remarkable, and “remarkably consistent” across the studies, is that these programs also improve the long-term outcomes of the children who benefit:
“Assistance programs such as the EITC, SNAP, and housing assistance not only help low-income families get by today but also help children thrive in the long run by improving their health status, educational success, and future work outcomes.”
Sherman and Mitchell suggest that economic security programs reduce the negative effects of poverty today, and also form a “critical foundation” for long-term economic self-sufficiency.
Read the full review here.
To learn more about ESSPRI, visit esspri.uci.edu
