Impact Area

Economic Security

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Our Priorities

Families in Virginia are financially secure and able to provide a healthy life for their young people.

Economic hardship impacts every aspect of a young person’s life—determining whether they have access to food, housing, health care, child care, and transportation. As pandemic-era supports such as the expanded federal Child Tax Credit, expanded SNAP benefits, and universal school meals have come to an end, families continue to be faced with rapid inflation and the rising costs of utilities, food, and household necessities. As such, families are reporting higher levels of food insecurity—with 11.7% of children living in food insecure households in Virginia—and we are seeing a sharp increase in child poverty.

Nearly one in three children in Virginia live in economically disadvantaged families earning less than $55,500 per year to cover the expenses of a family of fourThis has remained unchanged in the last decade.

We measure economic hardship by families living in poverty, but this doesn’t tell the full story of how many families experience hardship and what creates the path to economic security. Achieving economic stability requires removing barriers, like work requirements and time limits, to accessing safety net programs. It also requires providing direct cash assistance to low-income families and families with children through family-focused tax credits, like the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit that lawmakers made refundable at 15% of the federal credit in the 2022.  

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Emily Moore

Senior Policy Analyst

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emoore@vakids.org

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