Advocates Ramp Up Efforts to Achieve Child Tax Credit in Connecticut as Legislative Session End Nears

With one week remaining in the 2026 session of the state legislature, supporters of an increased child tax credit are intensifying their efforts, led by United Way of Connecticut, which released a series of data this week underscoring that the cost of living in Connecticut is squeezing working families, amplifying the imperative for the child tax credit.

Published reports this month indicate that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,  inflation rose faster in the Northeast (3.6%) than in any other region of the U.S. (3.3%), advocates note. They add that Connecticut’s cost‑of‑living surge in the past five years is driven primarily by housing increases (with home prices up by 40% and rents up by more than 30%) and food (prices up more than 20%), far outpacing wage growth.

A recent Columbia University study, advocates point out, found that for every $1 in CT Child Tax Credit, communities gain $5 in economic benefits. That means that if Connecticut established a fully refundable state child tax credit of $600 per child, they explain, capped at three children per household earning less than $200,000 in income, the annual tax expenditure of $316 million on this credit would deliver $1.54 billion in short and long-term economic benefits for participants, taxpayers and Connecticut.

The study notes that “The child tax credit would increase lifelong health, education, earnings and future tax contributions of children and decrease costs for child protective services, for healthcare and for victims of crimes and the criminal justice system. The credit would also lead to lifelong health improvement of parents.”

Key findings in the 6-page analysis by the Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University, published April 13, are:

• Connecticut is considering the establishment of a fully refundable state child tax credit worth up to $600 annually per qualifying child, capped at three children per tax unit, in families below $200,000 in household income.

• We estimate that an annual expenditure of $316 million on this credit would deliver $1.54 billion in short and long-term economic benefits to the state.

• Every $1 spent each year on this child tax credit in Connecticut would generate nearly $5 in economic gains at the state level.

• Economic gains are driven by the fact that the child tax credit would increase lifelong health, education, earnings, and future tax contributions of children and decrease costs for child protective services, for healthcare, and for victims of crimes and the criminal justice system. The credit would also lead to lifelong health improvement of parents.

“Connecticut is the only state in our region that doesn’t already have a child tax credit or is working toward establishing one. With the recent, dramatic cuts to important federal benefits and steep increases in costs to families, it’s more important now than ever to change that,” says Lisa Tepper Bates, President and CEO of United Way of Connecticut. “The CT Child Tax Credit would put $600 per child directly back in the hands of hard-working families to provide the basics their kids need to thrive. A child tax credit would not only help our families, but it would help our state. Our families and communities need this practical, proven solution.”