By Katie Fleischer
Broadcast version by Emily Scott
Reporting for the Ms. Magazine -Arkansas News Service Collaboration

It's no secret that extra cash can reduce stress and allow people to do things they've been putting off-like buying a few treats, going to the doctor or paying off debts. But new evidence suggests that receiving monthly payments doesn't just impact the mental health of parents, but also the brains and futures of their children.

A recent study compared two sets of low-income families, one group who received $20/month and another who received $333/month starting at their baby's birth. After a year, researchers found that the infants whose families received $333/month had more high-frequency brain activity-which is associated with the development of cognitive processing skills and increased memory.

This experiment concludes what low-income people have always known-that poverty and the stress associated with it has a negative impact on children's health. However, it also reveals the effects of childhood poverty linger throughout someone's life, affecting their cognitive development and impacting their future education or career. While this result will need to be confirmed with further research, the study helps demonstrate that early financial interventions in infants' lives can have a measurable impact on their health and help set them up for future success.

Throughout 2021, many low-income children were receiving these cognitive and developmental benefits, thanks to the expanded child tax credit (CTC). As part of President Biden's American Rescue Plan, parents received $3,000 to $3,600 per child for 2021, split up into six monthly payments and a larger lump sum during tax season in 2022.

During the six months the program was active, child poverty was reduced by 30 percent. The payments reached more than 36 million households, keeping 3.7 million children out of poverty in December. Now, the CTC has expired, putting millions of low-income families in precarious financial positions once again.

For Sequaya, a low-income Black mom who lost her job during the pandemic, the CTC helped keep her family afloat:

"The new child tax credit payments have helped me a lot, especially since I've just gone from getting paid every week to having zero income. It's helped to put shoes on my daughter's feet and food in the fridge until my SNAP benefits come through. It's a big relief to wake up and just know, 'Okay, I'm not going to have to borrow money today because I have that extra help coming in.' It's very helpful."

Now that the monthly CTC payments have ended, moms like Sequaya are losing the financial stability they relied on. But a similar policy, guaranteed income, is another option to ensure that low-income infants can achieve the same level of cognitive development as more privileged children.

Just like the CTC, guaranteed income provides low-income families with unrestricted cash payments, giving them the flexibility to keep up with monthly costs and invest in their children's futures. To guaranteed income proponents, this new research proves that providing unrestricted monthly payments-instead of complex welfare systems that require parents to jump through confusing hoops-will benefit low-income families across the U.S.

The Magnolia Mother's Trust (MMT) is one example of how guaranteed income can have a huge impact on marginalized families. By providing Black mothers living in extreme poverty with $1,000 per month for a year, MMT has demonstrated that unrestricted financial benefits can have extremely powerful effects on children-and they plan to use the evidence from their pilot program to advocate for a federal guaranteed income policy for all low-income families.

After a year of receiving guaranteed income, the percentage of MMT participants able to pay all their bills without additional support jumped from 37 percent to 80 percent. MMT mothers were 20 percent more likely to have children performing at or above grade level, and were 27 percent more likely to seek needed medical care than other moms not receiving guaranteed income. Many of the moms found that guaranteed income allowed them to focus on their children's education and health in ways that were previously out of reach.

For example, one MMT recipient Sabrina (last name withheld), a mother of three who was laid off from her retail job at the beginning of the pandemic, was able to enroll her son in a school designed to help him with his dyslexia. Another, Elsie, who works with the disabled, could afford to pay for the uniforms and fees necessary for her children to participate in the choir and marching band at school.

And single mom Chephirah shared:

"[MMT] has really helped me in preparing for [my daughter's] school. The money has also helped me cover my monthly bills, and get caught up on some old debts. It also helps to pay for things like my daughter's school books. And it's helped me in preparing for college. My hope for her right now is to be the first one in our family to graduate from high school-my brothers and I all left school early. I want her to have a real high school diploma, not a GED. I want her to go to college, and to just know that whatever she wants to strive for, I'm gonna be right there behind her to support her 100 percent."

For many of the moms, having more consistent access to money meant they could finally stop living paycheck-to-paycheck and focus on not just physical health, but the mental health of themselves and their kids as well.

Amber, a mother of two who works as a call center operator, reflected:

"My goal with my kids is to be an all-around support system for them in all aspects of their life, especially for their mental health because I think that's a really important issue in the Black community. I want to make sure they are given the proper tools to protect their mental and physical health in order to progress in life. I'm thinking about counseling for my kids-they haven't shown any signs of the pandemic wearing on them, but it's something I worry about."

Erica works at an elementary school and dreams of opening a counseling center for kids.

"Getting to be part of the Mother's Trust this year did a lot for me and my family," she wrote. "There's the financial part that's so important, but it also helped me show up better for my kids. I don't think I ever let them down before, but I used to have to work four or five jobs to make ends meet. Having the income coming in on top of my wages from work gave me more time to spend with them since I didn't have to work extra hours to make sure they had what they needed. It just helped me build myself up-financially, mentally, emotionally-everything you need to really build yourself up."

A common story among the MMT moms is how guaranteed income gives them a financial buffer, allowing them to relax and spend more time focused on their families and themselves instead of worrying about monthly bills. For their children, it lets them avoid the perpetual stress that comes with poverty, freeing up mental space to focus on school. In the long-term, that financial stability will likely enable more low-income children to go to college and achieve higher-paying careers.

Clearly, MMT-and other guaranteed income programs across the country-reveal the huge impact that consistent financial assistance has for low-income children, providing their parents with the resources they need to prioritize their long-term needs and set their children up for future success and happiness.

A federal guaranteed income policy would enable marginalized parents to support their children's education, invest in their family's future and live their lives without the constant mental burdens of debt and living paycheck-to-paycheck. Providing unrestricted cash to those who need it most would be a transformational policy for struggling Americans, and would help low-income children escape from crushing cycles of debt and poverty.

Mother of two and guaranteed income recipient Annette agrees.

"Thanks to the new child tax credit expansion coming monthly and the Magnolia Mother's Trust, I've been able to do more for my kids and not have to worry if I can afford a school uniform or school supplies," she wrote. "If I were able to sit down with our country's leaders, I would tell them how important a program like the Trust is. The money has helped me in pursuing a better future for me and my kids, and it helps low-income women like myself better ourselves."

This story was originally reported and written by Katie Fleischer for Ms. Magazine .


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Gov. Janet Mills has signed legislation to increase temporary assistance payments to families experiencing deep poverty.

Payments will increase by 20%, meaning a single-parent family of three will now receive nearly $870 per month.

Ann Danforth, policy advocate with Maine Equal Justice, said the aid will help families get beyond just surviving.

"It enables parents to be able to have child care, to go to work," said Danforth, "and enables kids to grow up in strong families, where they are then able to participate in the workforce, too."

Nearly one in eight Maine children live in poverty. The bill passed both chambers with unanimous support, signaling what Danforth said is a greater understanding that poverty impacts us all.

Childhood poverty in the United States was cut nearly in half during the COVID-19 pandemic, as expanded federal and state tax credits put cash in parents' pockets to help cover their basic needs.

Danforth said Maine lawmakers heard testimony from families utilizing these rebates and temporary aid, providing them with direction on what policies work best.

"All of the research and data from these policies reinforce what people with low income tell us," said Danforth, "which is that when we give people the resources and supports they need and trust them to do what's best for themselves and their families, we all win."

Danforth said she'd like to see a renewed expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit and further consideration of direct cash payments in Maine.

She said these policies not only help families pay for rent and food but help lift the constant stress that comes with poverty, giving parents time to plan for the future.




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Arkansas is taking critical steps to address its high maternal mortality rate, especially among women of color.

In the Natural State, Black women are three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than are white women.

Angela Duran, executive director with Excel by Eight, partners with families and communities to improve health and education outcomes for children up to age eight.

She said that as a result of focus groups and surveys, her organization has developed a new policy agenda that prioritizes maternal health.

"We are looking at is making sure that women have the right health insurance to cover them from prenatal to birth to postpartum," said Duran. "We have met some amazing doulas in the state of Arkansas, who have been very supportive to women, particularly some African American doulas, and been working with Black women around the state."

Duran said Arkansas now offers insurance to women up to 138% of the federal poverty level as a result of the Medicaid expansion.

She added that women at higher incomes can also access health insurance with low or no premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

Duran commended Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' signing the executive order to address maternal mortality and increase access to doulas and various forms of health insurance.

Arkansas has a maternal mortality rate of approximately 44 deaths per 100-thousand live births.

Duran said her group's policy objective centers on examining populations that face disenfranchisement from systems for various reasons, hindering their ability to navigate existing structures effectively.

"In addition to maternal health, knowing that it has a stronger impact on Black women, we look at ALICE families - which stands for Asset-Limited Income Constrained and Employed," said Duran. "So, it's people that are working, doing the right thing, and still don't have enough income to meet their basic expenses."

Duran added that a prenatal care model called Centering Pregnancy helps to improves outcomes for Black and white women.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is launching a mobile version to reach underserved communities. It creates support groups for expectant mothers at similar stages.




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Supporters of a federal pilot program to distribute diapers to low-income families in Massachusetts hope to build upon its success.

More than 1 million diapers, along with wipes and other needed supplies have helped some 1,600 families over the past several months.

Adriana Leo, director of planning and grants management for Community Action Inc. in Haverhill, said the program gives parents with limited budgets a chance to get ahead.

"If a family knows that they have the diaper supply to send their child to care, they also know that they can then go to work, to their school programs," Leo explained. "They're going to be covered and their child's going to be comfortable."

Leo noted enrolled families have received 100 diapers each month, giving them the financial flexibility to cover other basic needs. More than one-third of Massachusetts families said they cannot afford enough diapers for their children.

The Massachusetts Association for Community Action, a coalition of more than 20 community action agencies in the state, was awarded more than 1 million dollars in federal aid to distribute diapers via four hubs across the state and Western Connecticut.

Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, is sponsoring legislation to create a state fund to keep up the effort, and has held diaper drives at the statehouse to build support.

"The biggest awareness building activity you can do is to hold a diaper drive and have people who haven't experienced the high cost of diapers recently go to the store and see how much they are," Domb asserted.

Domb pointed out diaper distribution is just one strategy to help families make ends meet, in addition to direct cash payments. She noted WIC and SNAP funds cannot be used for diaper purchases. The bill has already advanced to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Mary Marte, housing program director for North Shore Community Action Programs, said it is encouraging news, as parents have reported the challenge of paying rent and going without diapers at the end of the month.

"The clients and the families that we work with, they cannot afford to pay $3,000 rent in the north shore," Marte emphasized. "I think that people really appreciate the help."

Marte added she thinks of a young mother and her one-year-old daughter who have benefited from the diaper distribution program, who told Marte the diapers have brought her a sense of security as she attends college and the confidence to keep going.


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