How out-of-school time programs can help families claim the Expanded Child Tax Credit

On February 2, The Afterschool Alliance hosted a webinar, “How out of school time programs can help families claim the Expanded Child Tax Credit,” with the Coalition on Human Needs and the Partnership for America's Children to help school time programs help you provide info to families and connect them to tax preparation assistance this year.

Jillian Luchner, Policy Director of the Afterschool Alliance began by outlining the intersection between out-of-school time programs and the Child Tax Credit. More than 40 percent of middle and lower income families report expecting to use some of their credit on their child’s activities.  

“As a field, we know how important this extra funding can be to narrowing opportunity gaps in children’s lives.”

Jillian continued to share data showing that many kids are missing out due to the cost of afterschool programs, with 61 percent of low-income households reporting programs are too expensive and families in the highest tax bracket spending more than five times more on out-of-school time programs than low-income households.

Julia Beebe, Child Tax Credit Outreach Coordinator of the Coalition for Human Needs, continued the discussion by uplifting the opportunity that afterschool programs have to connect families in their community with this critical benefit. She began by reviewing the basic structure of the expanded Child Tax Credit. With more funding available, more families are eligible to receive the full amount in 2022. The Child Tax Credit is projected to cut the number of children living in poverty by 40 percent and projected to raise approximately 1.1 million children above half the poverty line. Julian then listed ways in which families can use their Child Tax Credit: food, afterschool programming, school expenses, child care, and essential bills.

The challenge facing the field is that as many as four million children are at risk of missing out on the Child Tax Credit payments. Julia outlined eligibility requirements that can ensure all families receive the credit and reviewed ways in which afterschool programs can connect their families to tax assistance:

1. Program providers can connect families to VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) in their community.
2. Families can also access online tax assistance in English or Spanish.
3. Programs can connect low-income families to Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics for individuals who may have disputes with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
4. For families with individuals over age 50, programs can connect them to a local tax aide.

Julia pivoted to the program provider's role in equipping families with the appropriate tools and resources to claim their credit:

1. A list of documents to bring to a tax appointment
2. An outreach toolkit to raise awareness of the Child Tax Credit and reach families in the community
3. A mailing list for families to receive updates on the Child Tax Credit

Jillian and Julia returned for the Q&A and introduced Deb Weinstein, Executive Director at the Coalition on Human Needs. Panelists concluded the discussion by answering questions around resources available for non-English speaking families, strategies to best communicate with families around finances and taxes, and what a typical tax visit can look like for families and how afterschool providers can assuage the experience.

The full webinar is available on Youtube and all resources are available on our webinar archive page.