“It takes more than food to fight hunger,” said Lillian Singh, Senior Vice President at Share Our Strength. “The enhanced Child Tax Credit helped parents afford basic necessities like groceries, child care and transportation. Equity is central to our approach to ensure this benefit reaches those who need it most.”
Contact: Christy Felling, cfelling@strength.org
WASHINGTON, DC — In 2022, Share Our Strength launched an effort designed to help enroll more low-income families in the enhanced Child Tax Credit. The partnership consists of local partnerships with more than 20 trusted organizations across 10 states as well as with national organizations with a 50-state reach.
These local organizations serve a large share of non-filers that did not qualify for this benefit in past years and who still have not applied for the 2021 benefit. These partners - who in turn work with more than 100 other local groups, state agencies, and IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites - will provide support to families in California, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Texas and Virginia.
In 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan, the CTC was temporarily “enhanced” to provide increased financial relief to low-income parents to help with the costs of raising a child. For the first time, all families, including immigrant families with children under the age of 17 with a valid social security number could receive the full benefit, even if their income was too low to require filing for taxes. Half was made available in advance through monthly payments. It had a dramatic and immediate impact. Analysis in December 2021 shows that it cut child poverty by nearly one-third.
In 2022, Congress allowed this enhanced Tax Credit to lapse. Parents who have not yet claimed the benefit, however, are still able to retroactively apply for last year’s tax benefit through November 2022.
Many low-income families need both information and assistance with tax filing through free, non-predatory settings. And while the 2021 Child Tax Credit was effective in decreasing child poverty and food insecurity nationwide, disparities on who received it remain. Research shows structural barriers stood in the way of the benefit reaching families without a bank account, immigrant mothers and low-income families of color, with Latino families being the least likely to receive the CTC payment. To this end, these 20 local organizations, working in partnership with Share Our Strength, have launched a massive ground campaign designed to reach families with culturally and linguistically responsive information and assistance.
“It takes more than food to fight hunger,” said Lillian Singh, Senior Vice President at Share Our Strength. “The enhanced Child Tax Credit helped parents afford basic necessities like groceries, child care and transportation. Equity is central to our approach to ensure this benefit reaches those who need it most."
Families can also apply through the Code For America simplified portal through November 15, 2022 through www.getctc.org/strength. Spanish-speaking immigrant families can also call 877-999-0870 for direct support.
This list of Share Our Strength local partners for Child Tax Credit outreach includes:
California
- United Ways of CA
- Coachella Valley
- United Way Kern County
Florida
- Florida Prosperity Partnership
- Hispanic Unity
- Haitian Neighborhood Center, Sant La Inc.
Louisiana
- Middleburg Institute
- Capital Area United Way
Maine
- Maine Equal Justice Initiative
Maryland
- CASH Campaign of Maryland
Mississippi
- Chrome Strategies
New York
- Grow Brooklyn
Ohio
- CDF Ohio
- Policy Matters Ohio
Texas
- RAISE Texas
- Foundation Communities
- United Way Of Southern Cameron County
Virginia
- The Commonwealth Institute
- United Way Richmond
- CASA
National
- Code For America
- Simplify CTC
- Prosperity Now
- Oweesta
- National Disability Institute
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About Share Our Strength
At Share Our Strength, we're ending hunger and poverty – in the United States and abroad. Through proven, effective campaigns like No Kid Hungry and Cooking Matters, we connect people who care to ideas that work.