LIFTers,
As of last Thursday, monthly Child Tax Credits, historic family supports authorized in the American Rescue Plan, are hitting bank accounts and mailboxes!
This is a momentous moment for all who support and advocate for families and for the millions of children it will lift from poverty. As the White House noted, “The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan provides the largest Child Tax Credit ever and historic relief to the most working families ever – and as of July 15th, most families are automatically receiving monthly payments of $250 or $300 per child without having to take any action.”
As part of this groundbreaking policy, nearly all working families will receive $3,000 to $3,600 per child. This single act is projected to reduce child poverty from nearly 14% to 7.5% (cut nearly in half)—but the current CTC expansion is only for one year.
This is a historic moment – for LIFT families and for us – but there is still work to be done to make the CTC expansion permanent and extended to all immigrant families. And we are committed to being a part of the movement calling for these things.
As always, LIFT will continue to stand by families in the fight for hope, money, and love for all. Our regional offices are hard at work to ensure all LIFT parents are aware of and signed up for the monthly CTC payments, and nationally we are partnering with various organizations – from Economic Security Project and Community Change to the Administration for Children and Families, through our relationship with NCPFCE – to increase awareness and access to the monthly Child Tax Credit payments. We also participated in press conferences the week prior with US Senators and House of Representatives Members in the Keep Families Afloat campaign to raise awareness for non-filers.
We are actively partnering with national and local organizations (e.g. co-sponsoring an event featuring Vice President Kamala Harris) to fight for the CTC to be made permanent—and support families for years to come.
So we celebrate today, and double down on our commitment that we are in this fight for the long haul.
With Gratitude,
Helah Robinson
Senior VP of Program and Strategy, LIFT