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If there has been anything predictable about the last 18 months, it’s been that everything continues to be unpredictable. With new surges in cases across the country, and particularly the South, we’ve had to put our plans for resuming in-person programming on hold. As schools get ready to resume in-person learning, we are remaining vigilant knowing that even the best laid plans could change at a moment’s notice. And we know our families, already trying to navigate complicated situations as essential workers, parents with few childcare options, and limited access to healthcare services, are feeling this more acutely than most.

But one thing that is becoming a constant for the next few months is the expanded Child Tax Credit payments. Last month, we talked about the work our staff has been doing to get the word out about the payments and making sure all families who qualify were set up to receive them. We’re happy to report that that work paid off! The vast majority of our families received their first check via direct deposit on July 15 and are ready to receive their second payment on August 15.

Consistency is key. While some may wonder why it matters that these payments are monthly, instead of one lump sum at tax time, the stories of our families show us why. For example, take Annette. Annette works as a food service worker with Jackson Public Schools. She loves her job and being around kids. She is even in school part-time to finish her elementary education degree and become a full-time teacher. However, as a food service worker, she does not get paid during the summer months – only the ten months school is in session. She was able to use her CTC check to purchase school supplies and uniforms for her two children preparing to go back to school. Receiving the benefits monthly helps hold her over during the two summer months that her kids are home, especially since it is hard to find any short-term employment with limited childcare options.

Or take I’Esha. I’Esha had been working two jobs, managing multiple cleaning crews for Red Roof Inn and working as a cashier at a local shop. However, in January, she found out that she had a high-risk pregnancy, and in order to keep both herself, her baby, and her family safe, she was forced to quit her jobs. She had worked hard to build up her savings and was able to get by for a while, but having the consistency of the CTC payments has come as a huge relief. Like Annette, she was able to purchase clothes and school supplies for her two children preparing to go back to school and will be able to use her August payment for things like diapers and wipes, expenses not covered by benefits like SNAP or WIC, for her newborn. While she hopes to go back to work and utilize her culinary degree as a chef in the future, the CTC is a lifeline for her and her children during this time.

These are just a few examples among so many of the ways these monthly checks have changed the game for families. With so much unpredictability all around us, knowing that you are going to have what you need to cover the essentials for your family each month is an incredible relief. That’s why we, along with the Marshall Plan for Mom’s, Income Movement, and so many other organizations have been calling on the Biden administration and lawmakers to make the CTC monthly payments permanent. We will continue to share the stories of our families and the impact these monthly payments are having throughout the coming months, and we hope that you’ll help us out by sharing them with your own networks and communities, as well. And together, we hope to ensure that the CTC payments become a permanent, predictable support in a very unpredictable world.

Last month, the United States Supreme Court rescinded President Biden’s eviction moratorium leaving millions in jeopardy of housing instability. During the same week, the Mississippi Legislative Tax Study Committee held hearings to discuss changes such as possibly eliminating the state income tax – a move that public policy analysts note would further devastate the budget for our public services and shift the burden onto low income families. Research shows that evictions and eliminating state income taxes can be costly, and if lawmakers want to actually support families and boost local economies, new data proves there are better ways to do that.

As already underfunded public systems are being ravaged by preventable overload from the surge of the Delta variant, now, more than ever, families need support, stability, and strengthened social safety nets that center their voices and experiences.

Infusions of unrestricted cash such as stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, the child tax credit and earned income tax credits, have allowed for families to both support their needs, as well as put significant resources back into their local economies. At Springboard to Opportunities, we’ve seen the powerful impact of giving money directly to families through our guaranteed income initiative, The Magnolia Mother’s Trust (MMT) that provides $1,000 payments to 100 low-income Black mothers every month for 12 months.

If you’ve been a frequent reader of this newsletter, you already know that our data shows that families use these funds to cover bills, create savings and purchase food and basic household goods. This not only supports the well-being of these families, but translates to more money being spent at local businesses, multiplying economic growth in our state.

The expanded federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) has already contributed to a recent boost in added revenue for the state of Mississippi. The CTC which is now fully refundable and coming on a monthly schedule for the first six months, is available to more families than ever before. Recent research conducted by The Niskanen Center and the Institute for Tax and Employment Policy estimates that with these changes, the total impact of the CTC in Mississippi will be over $2 billion, supporting 7,266 full-time jobs, and adding over $18.5 million in new state revenue.

For the families Springboard serves, these funds contributed to timely necessities. Last month, we shared the stories of Annette and I’Esha, who were received their CTC funds at crucial moments when health complications and seasonal employment led to the loss of income. Initially, these mothers had to dig into their savings to keep their families afloat. However, the advanced monthly payments from the CTC have helped them afford basic necessities like school supplies and diapers – items not covered by other public benefits like SNAP or WIC.

Critics of cash programs often chide low-income families by saying they should just save — sentiments also communicated during the hearings by the MS Legislative Tax Study Committee. But mothers like I’Esha were saving. She worked two jobs to ensure that she could meet her family’s needs. Yet, that still wasn’t enough. The realities of working multiple jobs to still not make a living wage, coupled with government policies that are often inherently punitive, demonstrate the very significance of the CTC monthly payments.

Our lives do not exist in isolation. We are impacted by multiple systems and identities. Simply telling someone to “save” without recognition that most people are trying to stay housed amidst widespread housing crises, take care of families, not get sick because they likely won’t be able to afford treatment or could lose a job that doesn’t even pay them enough to live, misses the nuances of our layered experiences, and the greater burden of systemic inequities.

The expanded CTC is one step toward correcting some of these inequities and supporting much needed revenue and spending. When we support our people, everyone benefits.

In the coming weeks, Congress will be voting on a full budget package and while there will be massive numbers, multiple programs, and all sorts of policy jargon being thrown around, we encourage you to keep the stories of those like Annette and I’Esha front and center. We have proof of what works for families and businesses, and here in Mississippi, we’re already seeing the human and revenue benefits.

Let us take this opportunity to finally make a sustainably positive impact on the health, wellbeing, and livelihoods of children, families, and broader communities in this state and across this nation.

If you’ve been following our work this year, you know that we’ve been talking a lot about stories and narrative change. At the end of 2020, we made a commitment to center the voices of our families — changing the narrative that surrounds low-income families by making them the narrator, such as lifting up stories through platforms, like our Front & Center column with Ms. Magazine.

But as we’ve continued to explore what storytelling and narrative change means and looks like, we’ve been able to see just how many ways there are to tell stories and how effective they can be at so many different levels.

Internally, we’re using new evaluation methods to help tell a bigger and more comprehensive story about our work and our families, particularly in The Magnolia Mother’s Trust. For the first time, we’re utilizing Photovoice, a qualitative research method often used in community-based, participatory research that allows participants to document and reflect their reality through art and photos. These photos will be used in dialogues with the mothers and the evaluation team and also shared more widely as part of our evaluative work with The Magnolia Mother’s Trust. We know the story of our program cannot just be told in numbers and even words and adding in a visual element will not only expand the story we see and tell, but allow mothers who are uncomfortable with writing or speaking to share their story in a different way.

On a community level, we’re working to empower residents in each of our communities to be trusted messengers and use their stories to support the health and wellness of their community. We will be hiring residents who have received their COVID-19 vaccine to become Peer Health Promoters, organizing in their communities and sharing their story of vaccination with other community members as they help dispel myths surrounding the vaccine and encourage others to take the next step for their own safety and the safety of their community.

And nationally, we’re continuing to develop new ways to share the stories of our families. Like with Photovoice, we know that not all of our residents are comfortable with traditional methods of writing Op-Eds or speaking with reporters. But we believe that each person’s story is valuable and needs to be shared. We’ve already begun a bit of this work releasing a new Storytelling Series of videos on our website. But stay tuned for some exciting announcements in the next few months about more ways we’ll be sharing out stories.

The stories of our families contain multitudes: joy, heartbreak, perseverance, setbacks, dreams, and challenges. They are human stories. And we truly believe that their stories have the power to change and transform our organization, our communities, and even our entire nation for the better. We hope you’ll join us in sharing some of these powerful stories today.

Springboard To Opportunities’ statement on The US House of Representatives passing the Build Back Better Act

This morning the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, the biggest investment our federal government has made in families in decades. Along with historic investments in affordable housing, childcare, and education access, this bill also extends the expanded Child Tax Credit for another year while maintaining its full refundability.

Over the last 6 months, you have heard us talk repeatedly about the value of the Child Tax Credit and the importance of these monthly, unrestricted payments to families. Over these past months, we’ve talked to hundreds of families who have been using these payments for school supplies, diapers, uniforms and shoes, and even being able to start saving for their child’s future. These payments honor the hard work that goes into parenting and child care and give value to caregivers who have historically been ignored or overlooked in our economy.

But even beyond these tangible outcomes we’ve seen, the Child Tax Credit, along with other pieces of the Build Back Better Act, finally recognize the voices and stories of families that have so often been overlooked by policymakers and community leaders. Families have been saying for decades that the current social safety net system was not working, and they had brilliant ideas and insights into what could make it better. Unrestricted cash payments, as opposed to limited vouchers and funds tied to paternalistic requirements, is a first step toward honoring the voices of families and showing that we trust them to make the best decisions for their own family.

While we recognize that there is still much work to be done both to bring the Build Back Together Act to signed legislation and in creating a truly inclusive economy that allows all families to thrive, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate and applaud the members of the House of Representatives who took this important first step in that direction.

We encourage you to take some time this weekend to celebrate along with us by reading and sharing some of the newest Front & Center columns and continuing to uplift the stories of women and families who will be benefiting most from this legislation.