In honor of Child Tax Credit Awareness Day, June 21, as announced by the Biden Administration, Our Children Oregon is harnessing this day of action to focus on solutions to help kids and families emerge stronger from the pandemic. With the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) has been improved and expanded to deliver immediate, monthly help — $300 a month for children under 6 and $250 for older children — and is expected to cut poverty by nearly half across Oregon.
OCO is grateful to our elected officials who have responded to the urgent need to help families recover from this unprecedented crisis. This tax credit is set to reach 39 million families, covering almost 90 percent of the children in the United States, and for many families with children, will position parents and caregivers to be able to act to ensure their long-term financial security. Further, the expanded CTC addresses long-standing racial and ethnic inequities, nationally lifting more than six in ten Native American children, more than half of Black children, and nearly half of Latino kids out of poverty conditions.
Do you know a family that could benefit from receiving extra money each month?
Families can learn more about the tax credit they’ll start receiving starting July 15 and how to make sure they are set up to receive payments.
The CTC is now fully refundable, which in plain speak means even families who do not earn enough to owe federal income taxes can access this help.
We thank lawmakers for what they have done so far, and now Congress should act to make the expansion of the child tax credit permanent. The child tax credit has long had bipartisan support, so lawmakers should find common cause and ensure the largest one-year drop ever in child poverty is not followed by a surge.
