Every family deserves  the chance to thrive and find opportunities for themselves and their kids. Economic security policies make a difference in the health and wellbeing of individuals and families. The impact of economic security policies may be especially important for children because stability in early life has long-term physical and mental health implications. But many of the programs designed to help with basic needs like food, medical care, and housing are difficult to access. People in poverty say, and a growing body of research affirms, that direct cash payments are one of the most effective ways to improve short and long-term wellbeing and to provide financial stability for people who most need it.

Maine Equal Justice has worked on several strategies in recent years to  get more income to families. In recent months, we’ve focused on ensuring that parents and caregivers with the lowest incomes receive the Child Tax Credit (CTC), and improving the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program so that more families have income support so they can take steps to reach and sustain economic security.

Child Tax Credit (CTC) 

If you’re confused about what happened with the CTC expansion in recent months, you’re not alone. The American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit improvements for 2021 made the CTC available to the lowest income families who were previously ineligible for the credit. It also increased the amount families receive, and made the first half of the credit available to families on an advance monthly basis. Unfortunately, that enhanced benefit expired at the end of 2021 and has not been reauthorized by Congress.

Maine Equal Justice established the Credit to Kids Collaborative so that organizations could work together to make sure that families with income below the tax filing threshold  can access this additional income. We developed educational materials and worked to get the word out about the improved CTC. We partnered with CA$H Maine to provide free tax preparation to families with low income. We held pop-up events where people got help with filing in their preferred language. At the same time, we highlighted the need for Congress to act to extend the improved CTC to sustain the life changing impacts these payments have had on Maine families. 

Through our work on the Credit to Kids Campaign we have identified barriers for people who need tax filing assistance, and we are working with partners to build a stronger infrastructure for supporting families, particularly non-Enlish speaking families. Alongside the CTC, we are helping make sure Mainers with low income can access the new $850 Maine relief checks, which people with little to no income can get by filing a Maine tax return.

Improving TANF-ASPIRE in Maine

In addition to supporting efforts to get more income to families in the form of tax credits, Maine Equal Justice has been working to improve safety net programs like TANF, which provides critical income support to families with children. While TANF and ASPIRE (TANF’s employment and training program) can help families move toward long term economic security by helping parents access education and training, too often families are pushed off the program without the support they need to truly succeed. That’s why we worked to pass LD 1748, which will improve the ASPIRE program and increase access to education and training.

Once fully implemented, LD 1748 will:

• Help more parents who are interested in higher education enroll in an education or training program, like Parents as Scholars (PaS). These opportunities can open doors to better jobs, better pay and hours, and economic stability for Maine families.
• ​​​​Tell DHHS to make sure services are delivered in a respectful and appropriate way to speakers of other languages, people from different backgrounds, and those experiencing trauma.
• Give TANF participants–experts in how TANF could improve–a voice in shaping those services.
• Align Parents as Scholars with a similar and successful program, HOPE, and give PaS participants more funds for tuition, school debt, books & fees, and technology, among other improvements.

LD 1748 came from the experiences and leadership of Maine families and we’re so grateful for the stories they shared and the ways they shaped this effort, especially the ASPIRE Leadership Team, who in their own words are, “a group of diverse Maine residents who have been impacted by the ASPIRE program and have come together to create change with with the goal of transforming the system into one rooted in integrity and respect, and that acknowledges the importance of meeting participants where they are—so that all families have a path towards economic stability."

We’ll keep working alongside Maine families to improve the economic support systems we have–and pushing to make help more direct and easy to access in the long run.