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WYANDOTTE, MI - Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) joined Michigan Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist and State Representative Cara Clemente at Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency in Wyandotte, MI to encourage hardworking families to be on the lookout for advanced monthly payments of the Child Tax Credit, which offers up to $300 per month per child beginning, today, July 15^th through December. Rep. Dingell and Lt. Governor Gilchrist hosted a roundtable with leading experts and advocates from Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, United Way for Southeastern, Michigan University of Michigan, Accounting Aid Society, and MomsRising to discuss the enhanced and expanded Child Tax Credit passed in the American Rescue Plan and the impact it will have on families across Southeast Michigan.

·    39,000 hardworking middle-class households, covering 86.4% of all children, in Michigan’s 12^th Congressional District could get up to $300 per month per child July through December to help families afford necessities, including food and childcare.

·    Nearly all hardworking families should get their monthly payments automatically beginning July 15^th with no further action required.

·    It’s not too late. Families who did not file a tax return for 2019 or 2020 can still file their tax return to start receiving monthly Child Tax Credit Payments. Families should visit GetTheTaxFacts.org or call 2-1-1 and make an appointment to file their taxes for free with an IRS-certified agency to ensure they are receiving all of the tax credits they qualify for.

“Starting today, hard-working families across Michigan and the U.S. will receive critical payments of the expanded Child Tax Credit – a much-needed lifeline to afford necessities and support their families,” said Rep. Dingell. “Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, these payments will help the single parent struggling to get by, provide for the child who goes to school hungry and without proper nutrition, and ensure middle-class families can pay their bills.”

 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has further revealed how difficult it can be for working families with kids to make ends meet. From putting food on the table to affording childcare, families—especially working mothers—need support to get by. That is why this Child Tax Credit increase and expansion is so crucial,” said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist. “As parent myself, I understand how difficult and stressful the process of securing child care can be. That is why our administration has proposed further leveraging American Rescue Plan funds to significantly expand access to childcare and provide parents the resources and information they need. This, coupled with these important changes to the Child Tax Credit, that will help many families by delivering advance, direct monthly payments for every child. On a federal and state level, we are focused on making progress on the availability, affordability, and quality of child care to improve quality of life and jumpstart our economy. We will continue to make those investments and put Michiganders first.”

 

“Today is an important day for families! Ensuring that clients have access to free, non-predatory, secure tax preparation services is crucial for families to gain access to additional resources available to them, such as the Child Tax Credit,” said Louis Piszker, Chief Executive Officer of Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency. “We have continued to utilize several different strategies to safely complete tax returns to meet the need for these families. We continue to see the need post-season, and are expanding our efforts to ensure that all families receive the credits and resources they are entitled to and deserve.”

 

“Our ALICE report shows that in metro Detroit alone, more than 128,000 families with children regularly struggle to afford necessities like food, quality housing, and child care,” said Dr. Darienne Hudson, President and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan. “The expanded Child Tax Credit provides an essential boost to strained household budgets. We need to ensure everyone who is eligible knows about and can access this credit, and we must continue to support policies like this that help more families become financially stable.”

 

“The expansion of the Child Tax Credit has the potential to dramatically cut child poverty in America, and provide greater stability for families with children,” said Patrick Cooney, Assistant Director of Economic Mobility, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan. “If we can ensure broad access to the credit, and make the measure permanent, we can make great strides in the fight against child poverty in America.”

 

“It appears that this credit is going to become something permanent, so most citizens are going to have annual contact with the IRS for most of their lives,” said Gabrielle Thomas, Chief Operating Officer of Accounting Aid Society. “Volunteer-driven tax programs, like Accounting Aid Society, needs to be there to take the mystery out of the filing process, educate taxpayers, and remove the fear about the process so people can plan to use the money in the way the works best for them.”

 

“The expanded Child Tax Credit is going to make an enormous difference to Michigan families, many of whom are struggling due to the pandemic, the high cost of child care, and our country’s failure to guarantee paid leave,” said Elyssa Schmier, Vice President, Government Relations and National Budget at MomsRising and future beneficiary of the Child Tax Credit. “The expanded child tax credit will make it possible for many families to cover the rent, put nutritious food on the table and buy school supplies – and it will help keep moms in the workforce. These needs aren’t going to go away at the end of the year, though, and America’s moms are urging Congress to make it permanent."