A new report found Connecticut could heavily benefit from a state child tax credit.

The Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy report showed the state would see $1.5 billion in short- and long-term benefits. It also found every $1 spent on the child tax credit generates $5 in social and economic gains.

Amy Casavina Hall, senior vice president of partnerships, development and communications for the United Way of Connecticut, said the child tax credit can also affect where the state allocates funding.

"It reduces spending on things like criminal justice involvement, criminal justice system, victims of crimes," Casavina Hall outlined. "Those things get reduced, and we see better outcomes in health, in education, in earnings, in long-term stability."

Connecticut’s child tax credit would be a fully refundable $600 annual credit per qualifying child for families earning under $200,000 per year. Casavina Hall noted the credit has gained support among families and state lawmakers but it fell short at the last minute during the legislative session.

While the bill has not changed since first being introduced, the state has seen increasing unaffordability. Though there have been talks about whether to increase the child tax credit’s amount, Casavina Hall wants to see the bill passed first before any changes are made. She stressed state leaders must embrace the immediacy of what families need.

"No one knows right now, when we go to the gas pump, what those numbers are going to say," Casavina Hall pointed out. "But it’s only getting harder and harder to afford filling up that tank to get to work and get the kids to school. Prices at the grocery store are only getting higher."

Connecticut and many others are staring down federal cuts to programs like SNAP. While the state has seen a decline in the number of people in SNAP, a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report showed SNAP enrollment dropped significantly after the federal megabill was passed.

Source: Public News Service