The child tax credit that you may have received this year is starting to show early results. Last week the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey showed a drop in the number of households with children that reported insufficient food or trouble paying bills. The census surveyed families before and after the first payments arrived, and found a three percent decline in food insufficiency and a 2.5 percent decline in difficulty paying bills. 

Program Director with Opportunity Wisconsin Meghan Roh says the expanded child tax credit that was part of the American Rescue Plan has been crucial. Roh notes that the biggest beneficiaries have been children. 

Timothy Smeeding, an Economist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has also predicted that the strong early numbers will improve with time.