November 21, 2022

Dear Senator Portman and Senator Brown:

We, the undersigned organizations representing children, adults, and families across Ohio, believe all of us, regardless of what we look like or where we live, deserve to make ends meet and have opportunities to follow our dreams. That’s why we are calling on you to pass an end-of-year budget bill that includes an expanded child tax credit (CTC) and an expanded earned income tax credit (EITC) to provide a foundation of security, stability, and basic human dignity for all of us — no exceptions.

Unfortunately, millions of workers and families nationwide still struggle to afford the cost of basic necessities. Between July and August of this year, over a million families in Ohio had difficulty paying for usual household expenses, like food, child care, rent, gas, and medical costs, according to the US Census Bureau. Hardworking Ohio families can't keep up because of rising costs and poverty level wages. Four of Ohio’s 10 most common jobs don’t pay enough for a typical worker to feed a family of three without food assistance. Parents are also facing high costs for child care and rising costs at the grocery store, the gas station, and to heat and cool their homes.

Child and family instability costs us all. When children grow up living with ongoing insecurity and related stressors, it stunts their ability to learn and grow and limits their life’s trajectory. Compared to their more economically secure peers, children who grow up in poverty are more likely to underperform in school, experience health problems, and interact with the criminal legal system as adults.

Ohio children deserve better. When families have financial stability, children get better grades in school, are healthier, and earn more during their lifetime. When we help parents afford the basics, we empower them to prioritize the health and well-being of their children, and we all benefit. The expanded child tax credit (CTC) was an effective solution to provide more stability and security for families with children.

The American Rescue Plan temporarily provided direct monthly payments to over 1.2 million households and over 2.1 million children in Ohio through the expanded child tax credit (CTC). The positive impact was felt immediately. Ohio families were able to make ends meet and cover basic necessities such as groceries, gas, child care, and rent. According to a survey conducted by the Brookings Institution, 70% of parents said the payments helped them better manage rising prices. Nationally, child poverty fell to a record low of 5.2% in 2021.

Two Ohio parents shared what the expanded CTC meant for their families. With additional funds, Sophia Whitehouse from Central Ohio was able to afford child care in order to start her own business providing mental health services to children. She shared, “The child tax credit has been a

tremendous help paying for preschool and child care for my two zids under 5.” Jason Carter and his wife live in Cincinnati. They had a baby girl at the end of July 2020. The monthly $300 payments provided them with peace of mind. Mr. Carter said, “It helps us to survive, to plan, and have hope for an improved quality of life in the future.”

But now, Ohioans are facing greater hardship because the expanded CTC and EITC have expired. Without an expansion of the CTC, families will receive far less support next year and many families will no longer qualify for any support. Prior to the expansion of the CTC, 27 million children, including an estimated 950,000 children in Ohio, received less than the full $2,000 credit or no credit at all because policymakers structured the CTC to exclude families that are paid low wages. If you and your colleagues don’t act now, hundreds of thousands of children in Ohio will be deprived of important resources.

This is why we urge you to act now to make sure working Ohioans can pay the rent, put food on the table, and live with basic human dignity. The time is now to prioritize what really matters — our collective well-being and our children’s future.

While Congress has a tremendous opportunity to deliver for families, press reports indicate lobbyists are pressuring Congress to deliver more tax breaks for businesses and corporations. Wealthy corporations don’t need more tax breaks. The research shows that funding that supports children and families benefits us all. The experiment of the expanded child tax credit makes clear that the CTC is a common-sense and necessary solution to provide more security and stability for children, workers, and families. This may be the last chance this Congress has to act. We urge you to put families and workers first by expanding the CTC and the EITC instead of giving more tax breaks to large corporations in the end-of-year budget bill.

Thank you for your commitment to support children, families, and workers. We hope we can count on you to fight for these policies and make certain any final legislative package in December includes meaningful support for children, families, and the people of Ohio.

We, the undersigned organizations, stand united in our support to put Ohio families and workers first in our hope for a better future for all Ohioans.

Sincerely,

Statewide Organizations

1. Advocates for Ohio’s Future

2. American Heart Association

3. Children’s Defense Fund - Ohio

4. Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio

5. Faith in Public Life

6. Groundwork Ohio

7. HOLA Ohio

8. Hunger Network in Ohio

9. Mental Health America of Ohio

10. My Grow Connect

11. National Association of Social Workers - Ohio Chapter

12. Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund

13. Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children

14. Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies

15. Ohio Association of Foodbanks

16. Ohio Children's Alliance

17. Ohio Coalition of Labor Union Women

18. Ohio Domestic Violence Network

19. Ohio Education Association

20. Ohio Families Unite for Political Action and Change

21. Ohio Family Care Association

22. Ohio Federation for Health Equity and Social Justice

23. Ohio Grandparent Kinship Coalition

24. Ohio National Organization for Women (NOW)

25. Ohio NOW Education and Legal Fund

26. Ohio Organizing Collaborative

27. The Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network (WPPN)

28. One Ohio Now

29. OPAWL

30. Policy Matters Ohio

31. Public Children Services Association of Ohio

32. Public Education Partners- Ohio

33. RESULTS Ohio

34. Seeds of Literacy

35. The Center for Community Solutions

36. UU Justice Ohio

37. Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana

Local / Regional Organizations

38. Action for Children

39. All Nestled Inn Family Childcare

40. Artemis Center

41. Asian American Community Services

42. Athens County Food Pantry

43. Basic Needs Food Pantry

44. Battered Women's Shelter and Rape Crisis Center of Summit and Medina Counties

45. Bishop Griffin Resource Center

46. Bishopville Food Pantry

47. Blessed Christian Daycare Learning Center L.L.C.

48. Bridgeway Academy

49. Broad Street Neighborhood Outreach

50. Canal Lewisville UM Church

51. Cardington Community Food Pantry

52. Catholic Social Services

53. Central Community House

54. Central Ohio Worker Center

55. Church of Our Saviour/La Iglesia de Nuestro Salvad

56. City Year Columbus

57. Cleveland Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition

58. Cleveland Jobs with Justice

59. Clevelanders for Public Transit

60. Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center

61. Columbus Early Learning Centers

62. Columbus Works, Inc.

63. Communications Workers of America- District 4

64. Community Action Commission of Fayette County

65. Community Development for All People

66. Concord Counseling

67. Crime Victim Services

68. Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus

69. Directions for Youth & Families

70. Early Childhood Enrichment Center

71. East End Neighborhood Development Corporation

72. Family Abuse Shelter of Miami County, Inc.

73. First Baptist Church Child Care Center

74. Family Crisis Network - Our Home

75. First Church of God

76. First English Lutheran Church

77. The Foodbank

78. Forbes House

79. Freestore Foodbank

80. Gladden Community House

81. Godman Guild Association

82. Golden Harvest Food Pantry

83. Grandma's World

84. Greater Hilltop Area Shalom Zone

85. Greater Works Outreach Food Pantry

86. Groveport Madison Local Education Association

87. Hand In Hand Early Learning Center

88. Haven House of Pickaway County Inc

89. Healthy Community Partnership Mahoning Valley

90. Healthy New Albany

91. Hocking Athens Perry Community Action

92. Homesafe, Inc.

93. Hopewell Madison choice pantry

94. Highland Youth Garden

95. Huckleberry House

96. Human Service Chamber of Franklin County

97. Hunger Network

98. I Care Daycare

99. Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center

100. InterReligious Task Force On Central America

101. Jorivia Home Daycare LLC

102. Journey Center for Safety and Healing

103. Just Wright 4 Kids Learning academy

104. Kellys Kids daycare

105. Kendal at Oberlin

106. Kiddie Kampus Child Enrichment Center

107. Licking County Veggie Van

108. Little Loves Learning Center

109. Lincoln Gardens, National Church Residences

110. Local Matters

111. Logos Christian Ministries

112. Mary Evans Child Development Center

113. Mary's Little Lambs Childcare and Preschool

114. Mid-Ohio Food Collective

115. Miss Lori’s Place for Childcare

116. Motherful

117. My Sister's Place

118. National Council of Jewish Women/Cleveland

119. Neighborhood Services, Inc.

120. Newark Teachers Association

121. The Noble Family Violence Council, Inc.

122. Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition

123. Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless

124. Northern Ohioans for Budget Legislation Equality

125. The Nurtury

126. Ohio Naturally

127. Oneeighty

128. Open Arms Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services

129. Perfecting Saints Heart to Heart Ministries

130. PrimaryOne Health

131. Project Woman of Springfield and Clark County

132. REACH: Responding with Empathy, Access, and Community Healing

133. Renovate Life Church of God Food Pantry

134. Resident Resources Network, Inc.

135. RESULTS Central Ohio

136. Sarah's Friends, Inc.

137. Second Chance Center of Hope

138. Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign & Logan Counties

139. Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley

140. Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio

141. Seven Baskets Community Development Corp.

142. Shared Harvest Foodbank

143. Shepherd's House Inc.

144. Siemer Institute

145. Southern Ohio Task Force on Domestic Violence

146. Southeast Ohio Foodbank

147. SproutFive

148. St. Stephen's Community House

149. St. Vincent Family Services

150. Star House

151. Storehouse for Jesus Food Pantry

152. Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program

153. Transformation Now (Grandparents Educating Minds)

154. Transitions, Inc.

155. Tri-County Help Center, Inc.

156. United Way of Greater Cincinnati

157. United Way of Summit and Medina

158. Victory Ministries Center of Hope

159. We Amplify Voices

160. West Ohio Food Bank

161. The Women's Fund of Central Ohio

162. Women's Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation

163. YWCA Greater Cincinnati

164. YWCA Hamilton

165. YWCA of Northwest Ohio

166. Zora's House