Head Start Spots are Available
MCPS is registering four-year-old children for Pre-kindergarten/Head Start for the 2021-2022 school year. The registration process is online and no in-person contact is required. Parents can begin their registration online by completing a survey or call 240-740-4530. Informational videos to help parents navigate the registration process remotely are available in English, Spanish, and Amharic.
 On March 19, in partnership with Nonprofit Montgomery and Montgomery Moving Forward, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Head Start Program launched a pilot of The Basics, a public health strategy that raises awareness about early childhood development and builds capacity throughout the community for engaging families around five science-based parenting and caregiving tenets that support social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children. The five tenets of The Basics are Maximize Love and Manage Stress; Count, Group and Compare; Talk, Sing, and Point; Explore through Movement and Play; and Read and Discuss Stories.
The pilot program, funded with $100,000 in federal CARES Act funding, will focus on Head Start families in Germantown and Gaithersburg. The funding is one-time and the Basics advisory committee must secure funding for a fully implemented program.
“During this year of the pandemic, families are facing incredible stress and this effort will help strengthen parents as they build their children’s social, emotional and cognitive development, which are pivotal foundations for early learning and good health,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “We appreciate how all the partners have embraced this effort.”
The Basics pilot program is a partnership that includes Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Head Start (Community Action Agency, the grantee), Early Childhood Services and School Health Services, as well as Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Division of CARES Act, Early Childhood & Title I, and Montgomery Moving Forward, an initiative of Nonprofit Montgomery. Specifically, the pilot program will serve the 20877 Zip code, working with the Head Start and Pre-K programs at South Lake, Washington Grove, Gaithersburg, and Summit Hall Elementary Schools. The Basics launch event included a gift of a Little Library from County Councilmember Sidney Katz.
As part of its four-year action plan to expand child care options for infants, toddlers and preschoolers; provide greater access to more families; and support schools and community providers, The Basics pilot program aligns with the County’s Early Care and Education Initiative.
Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Action Agency has served as the County’s Head Start grantee since its inception. MCPS serves as the delegate agency for the County’s Head Start program, serving 648 children and their families with high-quality education and comprehensive services. The Community Action Board, along with the Head Start Parents Policy Council, is the governing body for the County’s Head Start program.
For information, contact Charlene Muhammad, Head Start manager, at Charlene.muhammad@montgomerycountymd.gov. The Basics launch event was featured in an article in the Washington Hispanic. A recording of the launch is available on The Basics website. The Montgomery County Basics pilot program is also on Instagram and Facebook.
 The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program appointments for this tax season are full. However, the VITA team encourages you to check the following tips for information that may apply to you and your family:
With leadership from the Montgomery County Delegation, this legislative session led to the passage of new Bills, signed by Governor Hogan, which significantly increase supports for working lower-income tax filers by expanding the Maryland Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Over a three-year period, the refundable portion of the credit will be increased for EITC filers, including those without dependents, and working taxpayers filing with an ITIN will for the first time be eligible for the state EITC.
Montgomery County's Community Action Board has worked with the CASH Campaign of Maryland and its partners for many years to advocate to expand the state and federal tax credits, and to increase the County’s Working Families Income Supplement (WFIS) to match the Maryland EITC. The Community Action Agency coordinates Montgomery's EITC outreach campaign, conducts the largest VITA program in the County, and is the largest provider of free tax preparation to ITIN filers in Maryland.
The Board greatly appreciates the leadership of the County Delegation in expanding the Maryland EITC, and County Executive Elrich for significantly funding the WFIS in the FY22 budget, as well as the County Councilmembers who have demonstrated their support of the WFIS and VITA through the years. It is hoped that this funding will allow over 45,000 County residents to benefit from both of these EITC expansions and move closer to self-sufficiency. To learn more about the expanded state EITC and County WFIS, check out the CASHBACK Tax Credits page or click HERE.
Special Note: Recent tax changes under the Biden administration have changed how unemployment payments are taxed, as well as other changes such as to the Earned Income Tax Credit. The IRS released the following statement to all VITA partners:
"The IRS is reviewing implementation plans for the newly enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Additional information about a new round of Economic Impact Payments, the expanded Child Tax Credit, including advance payments of the Child Tax Credit, and other tax provisions will be made available as soon as possible on IRS.gov. The IRS strongly urges taxpayers to not file amended returns related to the new legislative provisions or take other unnecessary steps at this time.
"The IRS will provide taxpayers with additional guidance on those provisions that could affect their 2020 tax return, including the retroactive provision that makes the first $10,200 of 2020 unemployment benefits nontaxable. For those who haven't filed yet, the IRS will provide a worksheet for paper filers and work with software industry to update current tax software so that taxpayers can determine how to report their unemployment income on their 2020 tax return. For those who received unemployment benefits last year and have already filed their 2020 tax return, the IRS emphasizes they should not file an amended return at this time, until the IRS issues additional guidance."
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