To the editor:

In Kansas, we celebrate the successes of children in our community, whether that be major sports wins, reigning spelling bee champs, or future artists. Every day these accomplishments of school children make the front page of newspapers. Achievements like these are made more attainable by strong financial support systems from families.

The Child Tax Credit is another avenue which aids in a child’s success. Unfortunately, 27 million low-income children are excluded from the full Child Tax Credits (CTC). According to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, 15% of children in Kansas live below the poverty line. That is over a thousand children not benefiting from Child Tax Credits, those who need it the most. We applaud Senators’ continued support of SNAP benefits, but there’s more that needs to be done. Expanding CTC for low-income workers and families is an opportunity to promote equitable opportunity for children in our community and cut child poverty in half.

All kids deserve the chance to achieve something newsworthy. We urge our Senators, Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, to support expansion of CTC for low-income households in the upcoming COVID relief legislation.

Melissa Bryan, Ashley Grills and Amy Whitworth

Manhattan