Findings from the Michigan EITC Access Project: ACEs Prevention through Economic Intervention

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Summary

This study evaluates the EITC Access Project, a home-visiting initiative implemented across nine Michigan counties to increase access to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) among eligible families. Through individualized financial education and support delivered in partnership with Parents as Teachers, the project aims to improve EITC knowledge, applications, and receipt while addressing barriers to participation. Initial findings suggest the program may increase EITC awareness and uptake while reducing child neglect, highlighting the potential of economic support and financial empowerment initiatives as strategies for child maltreatment prevention.

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Topics: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Program Evaluation, Public Assistance Policies (TANF, SNAP, and EITC), Socioeconomic Policy and Financial Wellbeing

Contributing Lab Members

Dr. Kathryn Maguire-Jack Lab Director
Olivia D. Chang Lab Member

Abstract

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a promising anti-poverty strategy in the United States (Hoynes & Patel, 2018). It has protective effects against adverse childhood experiences including child maltreatment (Berger et al., 2017; Biehl & Hill, 2018; Klevens et al., 2017; Rostad et al., 2020), intimate partner violence (Spencer et al., 2020), and parental mental health problems (Boyd-Swan et al., 2016; Evans & Garthwaite, 2014). Despite these positive impacts, approximately one in five families eligible for EITC does not receive it (Internal Revenue Service, 2019). The EITC Access Project involves intensive, one-on-one home visiting (delivered in conjunction with Parents As Teachers) that includes financial empowerment and education surrounding EITC across nine counties in the State of Michigan. Using paired t-tests, this study examines the outcomes of the EITC Access Project including knowledge of, application for, receipt of, and barriers to applying the EITC, and finds initial evidence that it may increase knowledge and uptake of EITC while decreasing neglect.

Citation

Maguire-Jack, K., Park, Y., Chang, O.D., Solomon, A., Quinn, J., Greenberg, S. Coggins, H., & Hinton, J. (2024). Findings from the Michigan EITC Access Project: ACEs Prevention through Economic Intervention. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 1-10.