When Governor Murphy signed the new state budget into law, New Jersey became the latest state with its own Child Tax Credit. Modeled on the highly successful federal Child Tax Credit expansion, the new program will provide eligible families with up to $500 per child under 6 years old.
Below, NJPP Senior Policy Analyst Peter Chen explains how the Child Tax Credit went from a proposal in an NJPP report published in February to a part of the budget deal between legislative leaders and the governor.
NJPP Senior Policy Analyst Peter Chen (@ptrchn1):
A quick THREAD on how NJ's #ChildTaxCredit went from proposal to reality in less than four months.
Starting in 2023 families will get $500 for each child under age 6 if they earn 30k or less, with smaller amounts up to 80k in income.
A BIG win for NJ kids, but how'd we do it? pic.twitter.com/exa6uxhvG7
— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
2. MEETING THE MOMENT
As soon as Nov state election ended, state leaders began talking up "affordability" but specific proposals didn't exist yet.
Wouldn't you know: @NJPolicy already had policy proposals that targeted working- and middle-class families, including CTC! pic.twitter.com/FUHjduRoqf— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
3. NATIONAL/STATE PARTNERS
We could test different program features thanks to the invaluable assistance of @iteptweets (shoutout to @Kamolika_Das !), and got feedback from other state partners like @CalBudgetCenter about how to structure a program. pic.twitter.com/hmc4yiXGeV— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
5. CENTERING PEOPLE@NJPolicy reached out to groups who directly served or families directly hurt by child poverty to guide the proposal and provide feedback.
The report and release framing centered on the costs of raising children first and the challenges families face.— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
As an example, focusing the legislative proposal on young children allowed the dollar amount to remain higher. $500 is a big enough amount to make a difference for families — $130 doesn't make the same dent in budgets.
But we wouldn't have known if we didn't run both scenarios.
— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
7. STRONG ALLIES@ASWReyJackson and @SenMTeresaRuiz were the exact right leaders to fight for CTC–committed to kids' issues but also skilled legislative operators.
And small but mighty advocate crew: @NJCitizenAction, @UnitedWayNNJ, @MaketheRoadNJ, @UWGreaterNewark pic.twitter.com/z9sKJKtCK7— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
8. THE MAJORITY OFFICES
Power in Trenton runs through the legislative majority offices, where leadership staff set up budget proposals. Talking to the majority offices early and often and staying on their radar ensured that we stayed in the conversations. pic.twitter.com/99j8TAEbHc— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
10. X FACTOR UNKNOWNS
The NJ budget process is opaque and largely hidden from the public, meaning that some stuff we just don't know.Other important family affordability proposals like Earned Income Tax Credit expansion didn't make it in, despite the same sponsors and partners. pic.twitter.com/kcIlRm4OvC
— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
That's all for now, but I'll add stuff if I think of it. And check out the rest of the NJPP budget roundup here: https://t.co/lirGi6ssSP
And the end of the FY23 budget process means the FY24 budget process just started. So buckle up and let's get more help for working families! pic.twitter.com/HGQzURq4pV
— Peter Chen 陳逸群 (@ptrchn1) July 5, 2022
