June 2020
The pandemic has magnified our nation’s failure to provide robust assistance for children and families in
times of crisis. COVID-19 has also laid bare the systemic economic, social, and racial inequities embedded
in our unjust systems. Today, communities of color are bearing the brunt of the fatal impacts of these
injustices. People of color are more likely to have lost jobs due to COVID, are dying at more rapid rates
compared to their white counterparts, and are more likely to live in poverty.
As new research shows that the pandemic could cause child poverty rates to rise by 53 percent,
especially for children of color, Congress must act now. Authorizing and expanding a Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund and making long-term changes to the TANF block
grant are more important than ever to make sure children and families can survive this crisis. Families
should not have to worry where their next meal will come from or face harsh requirements that were
impossible to meet even before this pandemic.
Read the CDF policy analysis here
