BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – A part of the American Rescue Plan, the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) program is a central source in helping with the effects of food hardship to financial instability, acting as a financial relief for working families across the country.
According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, the expanded tax credit program has allowed families to get back on their feet during the pandemic.
“It’s really been very supportive of West Virginia families and families across the country just digging out of the financial problems that a lot of people had to go through because of the pandemic. The newly expanded Child Tax Credit is giving people hope for the future,” says Seth DiStefano, a Policy Outreach Director for the WV Center on Budget and Policy.
The program has been a major benefit to nearly 350,000 children and their families in West Virginia alone, not only helping to alleviate financial strains but pulling thousands out of poverty. Joanna Vance, a Beckley mother of three says the program has been a huge help in paying off several different expenses going to the needs of her family.
“Like normal families we still struggle with doctor bills, cars breaking down. The Child Tax Credit has just been a cushion for us to be able to do these things and not having to worry about saving up to do them, and to get them done when we needed it,” Joanna says.
The expansion of the new program is still waiting for its renewal in Congress, a decision that could be costing to all of the children and their families if it’s not extended.
“The expanded Child Tax Credit has cut child poverty in West Virginia and around the country in half,” DiStefano adds. “That’s what is at stake here, generational poverty is the biggest problem we have in West Virginia and the expanded Child Tax Credit is making progress to that problem like no other policy before.”
The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy is encouraging families who have been benefitting from the program to reach out to Congress letting them know how much the program is helping our area pull out of financial instability.
