The winter holidays are past but we can still focus on the love and family that comes with that time of year. Despite political divisions that attempt to sow discord, we all have a similar goal: the security and well-being of our families.

Hoosiers recognize the importance of putting family first, and want the next generation to have opportunities to prosper. For the thousands of households with children across Indiana, that means giving our youngest Hoosiers – the future leaders, entrepreneurs, and workers of 2040 – a strong foundation to build good lives.

Even amidst our shared vision of prosperity for our children, many Indiana families lack opportunity for their children. Indiana has consistently underperformed relative to Midwest neighboring states when comparing child poverty rates, and currently 16 percent of Hoosier children live in poverty. Even more startling, one in five Hoosier children lacks adequate nutrition and experiences hunger. That’s a total of 285,070 children– more than the entire population of Fort Wayne.

We often see these as mere statistics, but what these unfortunate metrics really show is that parents across Indiana are struggling. They’re worrying about how to pay this month’s rent while trying to be present for the most precious moments. They’re choosing between keeping their children fed and keeping the heat on. More than half of them are worrying about having to miss work because they don’t have diapers to send to daycare with their child.

Tools at our disposal

In the face of these obstacles, we do have policy tools at our disposal that can help families build and maintain financial security. Indiana currently provides parents an income tax exemption for each of their children, but the maximum state income tax relief being provided to an Indiana family with a newborn is $122 – and this drops to a maximum of $76.25 for each older child. When compared with the annual cost of diapers at about $1,000 per child, not to mention childcare costs that range between $7,000 and $25,000 per child, this small tax exemption is clearly not sufficient to offset the financial burdens parents are facing. We owe it to Hoosiers to provide more robust tax relief for families with children, especially young children in their most vulnerable years of life.

Implementing a Child Tax Credit (CTC) at the state level in Indiana is one key way we can alleviate these financial strains unique to raising children. Parents may already be aware of the federal CTC, which offers taxpayers up to $2,000 in tax credits per child. Studies have indicated that the federal Child Tax Credit is associated with decreases in childrens’ food insecurity, increases in mental health outcomes for households with children, and lower poverty rates overall. At the state level, sixteen states from Utah to Maine have already enacted their own state-level CTC policies. While the specifics of the credit type, amount, and eligibility criteria vary state to state, those that have adopted their own CTCs have seen significant reductions in child poverty. Just as we build our homes on a strong, stable foundation, we can use tools like a Child Tax Credit to bolster Hoosier families’ economic security and well-being.

When former U.S. Sen. Dan Coats introduced the first version of a Child Tax Credit at the national level back in 1995, it reflected a quality about his constituents that remains true today: Indiana is a family state. We must support the Hoosiers who build their families here so that we can have communities with foundations of prosperity and economic stability.

Now more than ever, when we come together and talk about our hopes and dreams with our loved ones, we are reminded that there is so much more that unites us than divides us.