In the most challenging budget year the District has faced in over a decade, Mayor Muriel Bowser found herself in an unenviable position of having to balance raising revenue against supporting the needs of D.C. residents. But cuts to critical human services and social justice programs reveal a harsh reality: our most vulnerable communities can be sacrificed in times of bureaucratic hardship.
Under D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson’s leadership, the council reversed some of the mayor’s cuts and signaled a commitment to reducing poverty by establishing a $15 million local Child Tax Credit (CTC). This move aligns D.C. with the U.S. House, which voted to pass a $78 billion bipartisan tax package to temporarily expand the child tax credit, and over a dozen states that have adopted similar legislation.
Now, D.C. has the chance to become a national model for eliminating family poverty by strengthening the CTC with an opt-in coaching component, changing the trajectories of both parents and their children, so all families — regardless of income – can stay, live, and thrive in D.C.
As a commissioner on the Mayor’s Commission on Poverty, I’ve witnessed firsthand the challenges that D.C. families face. I also grew up in poverty, and I understand the constant struggle parents face to balance the demands of raising children and striving for economic stability. Child tax credits have been a lifeline for many families across the U.S., and I am heartened to see a tax credit of our own included in the budget.
This local CTC legislation is critical for D.C. families, especially with the expiration of pandemic-era federal tax credits, soaring food insecurity levels, and a rebound in child poverty rates. These tax credits are not mere policies; they are potent instruments for dismantling systemic barriers and carving transformative pathways out of poverty. But for the CTC to have its full impact, it must include an opt-in coaching component that not only provides immediate relief and financial breathing room for families in poverty, but also supports long term economic mobility.
Through my work at LIFT, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing two-generation economic mobility, I have seen the profound difference a cash-meets-coaching model can make for parents and children. Quarterly cash payments from LIFT’s Family Goal Fund alleviate financial stress. Then, LIFT pairs parents with coaches to design action plans, breaking down long-term goals into manageable steps, like applying to college or securing financial aid.
In LIFT’s coaching program, 96% of members improved their overall financial health, and 95% boosted their income or furthered their education, with an average income increase of over $20,000 annually. This success is rooted in LIFT’s comprehensive support system, which combines financial, educational, and career coaching to help parents increase their earnings, reduce debt, and build savings. Stories like Mellie Harris, a Ward 8 resident and mother of two, highlight the transformative power of this approach. “I wouldn’t want anyone to give up on their dreams for shortage of people who are able to rally around them or the chance to be supported in their goals,” Harris said. “If there was some way to duplicate the experience [of coaching] for more residents in D.C., I believe it would be an impactful program.”
Under Bowser’s leadership, we have also seen the potential of this model through Career MAP, which employs a two generation coaching model to create sustainable economic mobility. Currently, this is only available to the 600 families in the program, leaving tens of thousands of families living in poverty in the District without access. Expanding coaching to every family benefiting from the CTC is the key to extending transformative support where it’s needed most.
Now is the moment to propel D.C. families from crisis to stability, serve two generations at once, provide a basic lifeline toward economic mobility for our residents in need, and set the agenda for how cities can eliminate poverty. As Ayanna Mackins Free, Ward 4 resident and mother of four children put it, “Including coaching keeps the legislation honest…If the District is serious about having tax legislation in such a way that provides resources to families and pathways to the middle class, it needs to include coaching.”
Khadijah Williams is the director of policy and advocacy for LIFT, a nonprofit that partners with families to create conditions for economic success. She is a commissioner on the D.C. Commission on Poverty.
