On November 17, 2021, CLASP released a new national CTC survey findings. According to the research parents reported reduced financial stress, help in affording necessities and, for about one-quarter of respondents receiving monthly payments, working more hours outside of the home.
The survey included 1,012 eligible families with children ages 0-17 living at home. It was distributed in the second and third weeks of October, after most eligible families had received up to three rounds of monthly CTC advance payments. Survey respondents are weighted statistically to yield a nationally representative sample of parents with incomes less than $75,000, capturing a group where the vast majority of parents qualify for the CTC’s highest benefit level.
The report found,
“The most common way that respondents reported planning to use their CTC refund or monthly payments was towards paying bills, food and groceries, paying their rent or mortgage, buying clothing and shoes, and paying down credit cards or other debt.
The next most common spending options that families reported planning to use their CTC refund or monthly payments towards include saving or investing the money, meeting the costs of school or college, covering car expenses, covering child care costs, and towards after-school activities or lessons.”
You can read the full report here.
