- One in eight, that's how many New Jersey children live in poverty according to the progressive think tank NJ Policy Perspective, which says it has a new plan to tackle child poverty in New Jersey.

And it centers around one simple idea, giving families in need cash.

The new report out today offers multiple ways to achieve that goal, but even advocates warn it'll come with a hefty price tag, and it's unclear if the state would foot the bill.

Raven Santana takes a look.

- In a new report called "Freedom from Want, an Economic Guarantee for New Jersey's Kids," researchers lay out two pathways to dramatically reduce child poverty in the state where one in eight children live below the poverty line.

- We talked about the challenges of raising a child as a working parent with relatively stable financial means.

I imagine when we're talking about poverty, that's $32,000 for a family of four.

One in eight children are living at that level of economic deprivation.

And the solution is straightforward.

We can give families money to help them meet the costs that children bring with them.

The first plan doubled the size of existing tax credits like the earned income tax credit and child tax credit.

Price tag about 1.8 billion dollars a year.

The second plan is more ambitious, a five thousand dollar annual cash payment for every Medicaid eligible child.

It would start with the youngest children, then expand to kids up to 17, eventually costing more than three billion dollars annually.

Cash Does is, it's really about freedom for families.

It's about economic security, about knowing that one car repair, one rent increase isn't going to be enough to bankrupt your family, to put you out on the street, to force you to get a second job, right?

The whole point behind this is giving families, saying government should not be in the business of deciding how families spend their money.

Families know best how to spend their money.

Peter Chen of NJ Policy Perspective says the state can afford it, pointing out New Jersey already spends nearly $5 billion a year on property tax credits and hundreds of millions on corporate subsidies.

expansion of the child tax credit that happened as part of the American Rescue Plan.

That was a nationwide program that benefited 60 million people.

We're talking about a 40% reduction in child poverty at a national level that was immediately reversed when that expanded tax credit went away.

It's insane.

Anything, and look, and there are aspects to it that we could talk about.

We all want to eliminate poverty.

We all want to elevate people's standard of living.

So let's stipulate to the mission.

But the way to do it isn't to do a massive wealth transfer.

- But not everyone is on board.

Republican lawmakers call the proposal unrealistic.

- These programs, as proposed, would add $5 billion to New Jersey's $60 billion budget.

We already have a $4 billion structural deficit.

So we're going to now have a $9 billion structural deficit?

Stop.

It's impossible.

Advocates argue it is possible, pointing to pilots in Newark and Patterson that showed promise.

Jenny Marie Drobo, one of 400 Newark residents chosen from 4,700 applicants and who asked we not show her face received $12,000 over two years, no strings attached.

So it wasn't like I went to Atlantic City and dropped it all on a five on a spin.

All of my money was invested into myself and my future and my family and things I could do with it.

And in Flint, Michigan, a program called RX Kids gives new mothers $500 a month.

Moms, expected moms receive $1,500 in about mid-pregnancy, and then $500 a month until their baby turns one.

Families can use it to buy cribs, to get to that prenatal care appointment, to pay for food, to buy diapers.

Supporters say direct cash assistance pays for itself over time, through better health outcomes, higher earnings, and lower costs down the road.

"A decline in the low birth weight in Flint, decline in prematurity, so we're having healthier babies.

We've seen a reduction in postpartum depression among mamas.

We've seen a decline in evictions.

Families are more residentially stable."

For advocates, the question is whether lawmakers have the will.

The report is now being sent to the governor and state legislators in hopes of sparking debate.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.

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