Last Child Tax Credit check set to go out. That could push millions of kids into poverty.

Millions of Americans have weathered the COVID-19 pandemic with the help of direct cash payments from the U.S. government, via stimulus checks, extra unemployment benefits and the expanded Child Tax Credit. But that last financial buffer may come to an end on December 15 when the IRS sends out the sixth — and potentially last — check to parents. 

That would close the door on the nation's biggest federal cash-assistance programs, which began in 2020 with the first stimulus check and expanded unemployment aid. As those two programs ended earlier this year, the Child Tax Credit went into full swing in July, directing as much as $300 per month to families for each eligible child.

Experts credit those six months of direct payments with helping millions of low- and middle-income families afford basics like food, rent and car repairs, as well as child expenses like clothing and education. Without that aid, almost 10 million children may slip back into poverty, according to a recent analysis from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.