Ohio Governor Mike DeWine released his 2026-2027 proposed biennial budget last week. A highlight of his final budget as governor is a generous Child Tax Credit for low-middle income families in Ohio. 

The expansion of the Federal Child Tax Credit during the COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for lifting millions of children across the country out of poverty. Since its expiration in 2022, there has been a hole in the social safety net that Ohio has the opportunity to patch. 

While the governor is clearly on board with this proposal, the Ohio General Assembly holds the purse strings for state policymaking. One of the key considerations for this policy is the effectiveness of the policy in fighting child poverty. 

Your assignment is to make a quantitative estimate of how many children will be lifted out of poverty by this new tax credit. Your conclusion and reasoning should be written up in a memo of less than 300 words and emailed to Michael Hartnett at michael@sciotoanalysis.com by 5:00pm on Wednesday, February 26th. The target audience for this memo is a state legislator who needs impartial information on the effectiveness of the policy.

There is no definitive “right” answer to this question, though there are better and worse answers. Our goal is to see your strategy for answering a question and your ability to gather information, analyze it critically, and present it concisely. You will have a chance to explain your approach further in our interview. We look forward to reviewing your work.