Sustainable support for America's children: the expanded child tax credit of 2021 and the pressing need to implement a bipartisan, long-term child allowance policy in the United States

The United States has a vested interest in providing support for families raising children. Over the past 25 years, the country has used a tax code provision known as the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to provide financial assistance to parents raising children. This paper presents a synthesis of relevant political and academic discourse on child tax credits and allowances over the past 25 years and offer a sampling of potential paths forward for the policy in the United States. The research affirms that the United States should focus its efforts on converting to a fully refundable, simple-to-navigate, and monthly federal child allowance to maximize its return on investment for American families.