Can the Child Tax Credit Prevent Crime?

There are many obvious reasons for providing families with a Child Tax Credit. This report series discusses a reason often overlooked: that a fully refundable Child Tax Credit will help cut future crime. The Surgeon General’s report on youth violence showed that children from poor families have a much greater chance of becoming involved in violent crime than children from better-off families. In fact, children of poor families are more likely to become violent criminals than even children who are abused or neglected. In other words, poverty is more closely associated with criminality than abuse or neglect.