Latinos In Poverty Work Plenty But Can’t Get Ahead

The reality for America’s Latino families often counters a popular policy argument: To escape poverty, families must fit the traditional two-parent mold where at least one has a steady job to avoid depending on government benefits. There are good reasons why these ingredients dominate the debate: Children do better when raised by two parents in a family with a steady income. The problem with this argument is that this is not close enough to the full picture.

I have studied Latino families for a decade and have found that Latino children are one of the largest groups of children living in poverty, despite usually living with two parents, at least one of whom works. And, even though they are eligible, Latino families are less likely to receive government benefits.

This suggests that the old ways of looking at child poverty might be outdated. As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, lawmakers should take a closer look at Latino families to find new ideas and solutions. To lift children out of poverty, we need an updated blueprint for policy conversations that builds on employment, two-parent households and safety nets to mobilize families to escape poverty.

What might that blueprint look like?

First, support all two-parent families, especially those with very low income, starting from birth. Middle- to high-income families benefit from a variety of tax deductions and incentives to invest in their children, including for childcare and college. Two-parent high-earner households do not run the risk of working too many hours to qualify — and while they pay their share of taxes — they are also rewarded more from the government.

Latinos work at high rates but don’t generally earn a lot; for too many Latino families, earnings are certainly not enough to escape poverty. Complicating matters, dual-earner Latino households are sometimes penalized by safety net programs because they work too many hours to benefit from some subsidies (like child care or temporary cash assistance) — yet, they don’t earn enough to benefit from tax refunds and deductions. The idea that paid work is a springboard to get ahead isn’t true for many of these families.

The 2021 expansion of the child tax credit is an example of a solution: low-income, two-parent, dual-earner families, many of whom were Latino, became eligible for a tax refund that middle- to higher-income families had always had. Child poverty was reduced in response, including Latino child poverty. Unfortunately, this pandemic-era expansion has ended, leading more families into poverty.

Second, jobs must pay enough to live above the poverty line. Latinos were the fastest group to recover from the last recession and are one of the fastest groups re-entering the labor market since the pandemic. Getting or having a job is not the sticking point: The problem is earning enough — and having a job with some security and room for earnings growth — to allow for juggling the demands of parenting.

Latinos are more likely to work in essential jobs that support the broader economy. But these are physically demanding jobs like waiting tables, cleaning office buildings, farming and working assembly lines — with low earnings, low stability and low earnings growth. Latino workers are disproportionately undocumented, migrants and working seasonal jobs like construction and agriculture, so they have less bargaining power and are more vulnerable to employers who don’t offer benefits, withhold benefits or don’t guarantee work hours.

Latino families also face fewer childcare options, even as they represent a large portion of the early education and care workforce. Investing in the care and service economy will have multiple positive spillovers for workers, working families and also children, all toward escaping poverty.

Third, Latinos need better access to our robust national safety net, programs that are proven effective. For example, Latino households are less likely to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Latino children are less likely to benefit from early intervention programs in public schools. Expanding policies that we already know work really well will increase these positive returns.

Meanwhile, anti-immigrant political rhetoric and policies have a chilling effect among eligible Latino families while burdening practitioners and administrators tasked with delivering benefits. We must eliminate the politics of intimidation.

If this all sounds daunting, well, it is. Poverty is complicated, and so are the solutions; being stuck in old narratives is not going to help one of the largest groups of young people in the United States. Looking to Latinos offers a new path to policy investment, one that harnesses two-parent families and builds on gainful employment. After all, as the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S., Latino children and youth will be the future face of America.

This piece is a reposting of an op-ed originally posted on The Messenger on October 6, 2023.

Lisa Gennetian is an applied economist in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, where she studies child poverty. She is also a co-principal investigator at The National Center for Research on Hispanic Families and Children.