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Disrupting the systemic and multi-generational impacts of economic inequality is a signature piece of our work at Children’s Home & Aid’s Ahlquist Center for Policy, Practice, and Innovation. Why is a family service agency committed to eradicating poverty? Because time and time again, conversations around child neglect fail to recognize the impact of poverty on families. And far too often, a lack of basic needs leads to involvement in the child welfare system. January is National Poverty Awareness Month and I want to highlight one key way we can support families with young children and address access to a specific basic need this legislative session: making diapers more affordable.
Many caregivers we work alongside across the state can tell you exactly how many diapers they have left for their children and when those diapers will run out. For example, a mother in one of our home visiting programs has four children, with the youngest still in diapers. Her family purchases diapers at the beginning of each month and she calculates exactly how many diapers will keep her son clean and dry. However, with any change in how regularly he needs a fresh diaper – if he’s sick or working on potty training – her diaper math will be wrong. She is then forced to scramble to obtain more diapers. She told us:
“It’s a strain sometimes wondering have I bought enough, am I going to be short at the end of the month, if I have to buy cheaper ones are they going to give him diaper rash… It seems like an easy thing but it’s not. It’s a whole side job in itself trying to figure it out”.
The delicate dance of diaper math can force caregivers into difficult choices; like waiting longer to change a dirty diaper or creating makeshift diapers out of household supplies. And it’s not getting any easier for families. The price of disposable diapers has gone up 20 percent since the summer of 2021, and over 30 percent since the start of the pandemic. Diapers are a basic need for young children, but our policies have priced them as a luxury.
No family should have to decide whether their paycheck goes toward purchasing food or keeping their children in clean diapers. To address this need, we are proud to partner with State Representative Lakesia Collins and State Senator Karina Villa on legislation creating a diaper allowance for Illinois families. Modeled on successful programs in California and Washington, their legislation, to be introduced this month, provides $70 per month to Illinois families who earn under the federal poverty level to spend on diapers for every child under the age of three.
Diapers are just one part of our strategy to help families in Illinois thrive. The federal Expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) was a game changer for families: the child poverty rate fell to a historically low 5.2 percent in 2021. With an extension of the tax credit stuck in the bureaucracy of Washington, it is up to states like Illinois to step up and find solutions for lifting families out of poverty. That’s why we’re proud to be working with advocates throughout the state to create an Illinois Child Tax Credit, to provide $600 per child under the age of 17 to low- and middle-income families.
There are no quick fixes to disrupting economic inequality. This month, as we bring awareness to poverty in the state and as lawmakers return to Washington and Springfield, let’s pause and reflect on how we can best support families and children in having the resources they need to thrive.
Eric Mayo
Public Policy Manager
Children's Home & Aid
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