New Report Reveals How Federal Policies Could Reduce or Exacerbate Poverty among U.S. Women and Children

The aftermath of the government shutdown and GOP budget cuts will severely impact anti-poverty programs on which millions of American women and children rely. On November 20, the Criminalization of Race and Poverty Program at Institute for Policy Studies released a vital new report, “Women and Children: Under Threat in America,” which examines the impact of funding cuts on access to education, food assistance, healthcare, and housing. The report also reveals how current and proposed policies could reduce or exacerbate poverty and resource insecurity among American women and children.

“Our new report shows that poverty in the United States is a result of policy choices – and restoring proven anti-poverty measures will be crucial to restore recent progress in reducing rates of poverty among women and children in America,” said report co-author Ta’Kyla Bates. “The report highlights data that clearly shows: poverty-alleviation programs during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how supporting human needs can drastically reduce poverty.”

Women and children in the United States are under enormous economic strain:

• After poverty-reducing programs enacted in 2021 expired, child poverty more than doubled from 5.2% in 2021 to 13.4% in 2024. 
• According to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, nearly 13.6% of women and 13.4% of children lived in poverty in 2024.
• Since the poverty-reducing programs of 2021 expired, the overall poverty rate has increased from 8% back to nearly 13% in 2024.
  

“When children grow up with proper nutrition, quality and affordable healthcare, quality public education, safe and accessible housing, they do better for a lifetime,” said report co-author Karen Dolan, director of the Criminalization of Race and Poverty Project at IPS. “Our new analysis examines the devastating potential impact of cuts to crucial programs like Head Start, free and reduced school lunch, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).” 

Key findings related to education:

• Over 90% of the children and families enrolled in Head Start programs live below the poverty threshold. Eliminating those programs could deprive millions of families of access to affordable or free childcare.
• Massive layoffs at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which oversees states’ compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), would remove essential safeguards and programs for 7.5 million children and students with disabilities.
  

Key findings related to food insecurity: 

• Black, Latinx, and Native American children are at the greatest risk of losing SNAP benefits, increasing the risk of food insecurity, due to HR.1 cuts. 
• SNAP cuts could undo improved health outcomes, putting many children at risk of chronic diseases like malnutrition and obesity, and developmental issues.
• WIC benefits eligibility is tied to SNAP and Medicaid. Cuts to those programs will result in hundreds of thousands of infants and young children losing WIC.

Key findings related to affordable healthcare access:

• Under HR.1, nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers are at risk of closure, over 90% of those in states where abortion is legal. Over one million patients could lose access to reproductive and essential care.
• School-based health services like vision and hearing screenings, speech therapy, and behavioral health services could disappear due to Medicaid cuts.
• 4 in 10 children in rural areas receive Medicaid and/or CHIP benefits. With over 700 rural hospitals at risk of closure, and over 300 more at risk due to Medicaid cuts, children in rural areas could lose access to health services.
• Lawfully present immigrants, such as survivors of trafficking and domestic violence, who are eligible for Medicaid will lose access to that health coverage.

Key findings related to the housing crisis and homelessness:

• Proposed restrictions, such as work requirements, time limits on living in public housing, and legal status for families receiving housing assistance, could put over 4 million people at risk of losing housing assistance.
• Funding for Emergency Housing Voucher programs could run out by 2026, resulting in nearly 60,000 families, mostly those with children, facing immediate homelessness.
  

Read the full report: https://ips-dc.org/fact-sheet-federal-policy-threatens-women-and-children-with-poverty/

To speak with one of the report co-authors, contact IPS Deputy Communications Director Olivia Alperstein at olivia@ips-dc.org.

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