The deadline for families to submit information to the IRS for advanced payments of the Expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) is November 15. The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is hosting a webinar series for human service agencies and community providers to highlight the tools and resources states are using to assist eligible families in receiving this credit. APHSA will convene the third webinar along with GMMB on October 22, 2021 from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the CTC Message Toolkit for Human Services Agencies and demonstrate how these resources can be used to spread the word to families about the CTC.

The deadline for families to submit information to the IRS for advanced payments of the Expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) is November 15. To assist in ensuring that eligible families receive this credit, the American Public Human Services Association is hosting a webinar series for state agencies to discuss the CTC tools they are using. The first webinar was October 1, when the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC) discussed how TPC’s data visualization map can inform a strategic approach to targeting CTC outreach, and what Colorado is doing today to reach eligible families.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on the livelihoods, finances, and well-being of millions of individuals in Indian Country. Compounding the burden of job losses are widespread school shutdowns and the lack of affordable child care, which simultaneously hinder TANF-participating parents, particularly mothers, from gaining meaningful employment while imposing additional costs on already tight family resources. These trends present urgent and essential demands on Tribal TANF programs. To respond to these challenges, the Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar on October 27, 2021, which provided insights on Federal and State resources that can assist parents in transitioning into employment, as well as innovative practices from Tribal TANF, child care, and community organizations to support low-income families. The webinar also identified strategies for coordinating Tribal TANF and Child Care offices.

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) webpage includes CDC and partner resources and offers guidance in reducing stress children might encounter when transitioning back to in-person learning. Also included is the link to a CDC podcast entitled Transitioning Back to School or Early Child Education.

The third of a three-part series, this April 27, 2021 webinar from the Center for Health Care Strategies examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reducing young children’s access to in-person early childhood and learning programs. Presentations covered approaches that states and communities might use to address development and learning needs as the children reenter early childhood and learning settings. Speakers included representatives from the Ohio Department of Education, the North Carolina Department of Health Benefits (Medicaid), and the Office of Head Start.

Educare schools provide full-day, year-round early care and education for young children living in families from underserved communities. This brief illustrates the experiences and responses of Educare’s early childhood care and education (ECCE) staff during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as systemic inequities that Educare schools encountered. Interviews with staff from 18 Educare schools revealed three common themes: the importance of supporting the ECCE workforce’s physical and mental health and overall well-being; the redefinition of expectations and mechanisms for accountability; and the ECCE workforce’s ongoing commitment to professional development. The brief describes a set of identified challenges for each theme that the ECCE workforce encountered and overcame.

Program services, such as health care, nutritious food, housing, early care, and education, are often delivered in silos, creating access barriers for families. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation blogpost presents an interactive map that documents 95 state and local coordinated service approaches nationally. The map is part of the Assessing Models of Coordinated Services project which promotes children’s healthy development.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act includes $150 million in funding support for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV). This blogpost outlines how MIECHV ARP funds will be distributed and allowable uses. Under the MIECHV ARP provisions, expanded services offered to enrolled families include home visiting services, technology for virtual visits, emergency supplies (including personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers, and diapers), and prepaid grocery cards. This additional funding can also be used to support the training and expansion of the home visiting workforce.

This two-part June 23, 2021 podcast explores early childhood programming that includes services and supports to help families by helping fathers. The podcast’s first part examines Bright Beginnings, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit which delivers center- and home-based Head Start programming to children and families. It includes a discussion with the program’s administrator and a maintenance technician who also has been a participating father. The second part examines research from Mathematica and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation to understand approaches for including and engaging fathers in social service programming.

This Dear Colleague Letter, addressed to ACF Grantees and interested parties, requests that ACF grantees raise awareness of the child tax credit for working families which takes effect on July 15, 2021. The letter identifies that families can learn about the credit at www.childtaxcredit.gov and that non-tax filer parents can also qualify for the tax credit by using the IRS’s Child Tax Credit Non-filer Sign Up Tool to apply for benefits. The letter also highlights different ways to engage with working families and raise awareness of this significant benefit.