The poverty rate in the U.S. has risen dramatically in the year since pandemic benefits ran out — and the child poverty rate has more than doubled, according to U.S. Census Bureau's annual data on poverty, income and health insurance released Tuesday.

As states take steps to tighten abortion laws, conversations have been reignited about how to best support families and babies. Many policy experts point to a permanent Child Tax Credit, made available to low- and no-income families, as one way to do that.

Roughly 175,000 Hoosier children under the age of 18 are at risk of slipping back into poverty or deeper into poverty if the expanded federal child tax credit ends after December.

Under the tax credit, Hoosier parents can receive monthly cash payments from $250-$300 for children under 18. In the past, that credit would come when filing taxes.

Some Hoosiers received the first monthly installment of a child tax credit Thursday. It's a one-year-only program from the American Rescue Plan designed to help families emerge from the pandemic.