Child poverty falls to record low thanks to safety net programs

Center on Budget & Policy Priorities - The child poverty rate fell to a record low of 15.6 percent in 2016, a little more than half its 1967 level.

This robust progress against child poverty is largely an unheralded development. So is the role of government programs in driving this progress.

The data show that near-halving of the child poverty rate since the late 1960s is largely attributable to the creation or expansion of various safety net programs, particularly SNAP and two major refundable tax credits.