E-Newsletter: June 2021

Montgomery County
Community Action Agency

An Update on the Community Action Agency’s Services

In the middle of March 2020, following State and County guidance, our agency shifted from delivering in-person services to a virtual service model, continuing the delivery of a range of critically needed services, engaging with the community, partners and Board. A few March 2020 - March 2021 agency highlights are to the right.

I am so proud of our team’s dedication and perseverance to meet rising needs through these very challenging times. I am also pleased to let you know that due to improving health conditions as noted on the County’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard and effective July 13^th, we will resume in-person, direct services as follows: 

• TESS will resume “walk-in” services on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings, from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. In-person appointments will be available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. The TESS staff will continue to “triage” clients and deliver virtual services at other times within the regular schedule of 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.  
• VITA will offer in-person appointments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as well as the resumption of “virtual” free tax appointments for amended tax returns for 2020, 2019, and 2018. VITA appointments can be made by calling 240-777-1123. 

Administrative functions, such as contract monitoring, fiscal operations, grant administration, and management, will continue to be delivered virtually, with some in-person meetings. The Community Action Board is in the process of determining its schedule for the FY22 year.  All Community Action Agency staff, whether working in person or virtually, will continue to be available through their county email addresses and phone numbers. We look forward to continuing our work together, “helping people, changing lives.”      

Warm regards, 

Sharon Strauss, Executive Director

Community Action Honors Two Retiring Head Start Teachers

Montgomery County Head Start honored two of its beloved and seasoned Head Start teachers who are retiring after decades of dedicated service to the program. Linda Mollet served in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) for thirty-five years, most recently as the lead teacher for a classroom of three and four-year-olds at Strawberry Knolls Elementary School. Pictured above, left to right: Melisha Creef, Head Start education manager; Linda Mollet; Verna Washington, MCPS Pre-Kindergarten/Head Start Supervisor, and Ms. Mollet's assistant teacher, Robin Budd. Ms. Budd shared: “Working with Linda has been an outstanding and very rewarding experience. Fairness, caring, respect, and honesty...are qualities she has shown to everyone. From the students, to the parents, to co-workers, to all. To me she has been a mentor, colleague and friend. I appreciate our time together (thirty-five years) and I will miss her so very much for so many reasons.”

MaryAnn Carter retires as the lead teacher at Beall Elementary School with forty years of service. MaryAnn is pictured to the right with  assistant teacher Rosa Martins. Ms. Martins shared: “I have had the honor and privilege to work alongside MaryAnn Carter for the past seven years…the relationship between a paraeducator and teacher is a close one, you must work alongside each other in an effective partnership. MaryAnn’s positive attitude and welcoming personality made it easy to work alongside her from day one. MaryAnn is more than an amazing educator. She is a beautiful person and genuinely cares about each one of her students. She always has a smile on her face and brings joy to the classroom. MaryAnn has a way of making the classroom a fun, safe and engaging environment. Her positive attitude brings out the best in her students. “In addition to helping and caring for her students, she has also helped me in countless ways. COVID-19 forced us to work virtually for the past fifteen months. Some of us are more technically savvy than others. Lucky for me, MaryAnn is one of those technically savvy people. She has helped me with my technical Zoom issues…outside my home, with gloves and a mask on in addition to being six feet apart. She has not only given the students and I support throughout the years, but she has also managed to support the families of our students as well. Part of the relationship that we have with our students is letting them go at the end of each year and letting them start their new chapter in life. It is time for Beall Elementary and I to let you start your new chapter in life. Thank you for all that you have done for me and the students that we shared over the years.” Each teacher was presented with a plaque on behalf of Community Action Agency. Congratulations Miss Linda and Miss MaryAnn!

2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments

The information below is excerpted from Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021 | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov).

About the Advance Child Tax Credit

The expanded and newly-advanceable Child Tax Credit was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in March. Normally, the IRS will calculate the payment based on a person's 2020 tax return, including those who use the Non-filer Sign-up tool. If that return is not available because it has not yet been filed or is still being processed, the IRS will instead determine the initial payment amounts using the 2019 return or the information entered using the Non-filers tool that was available in 2020.

The payment will be up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child age 6 through 17.

To make sure families have easy access to their money, the IRS will issue these payments by direct deposit, as long as correct banking information has previously been provided to the IRS. Otherwise, people should watch their mail around July 15 for their mailed payment. The dates for the Advance Child Tax Credit payments are July 15, August 13, September 15, October 15, November 15, and December 15.

Please follow links to the IRS Q & A on reconciling advance CTC payments on the 2021 tax return, including information on when advance Child Tax Credit payments need to be paid back to the IRS, and how to determine who qualifies for repayment protection. 

If you receive advance Child Tax Credits in 2021, the IRS will send you Letter 6419 in January 2022 to provide the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that were disbursed to you. Please keep this letter regarding your advance Child Tax Credit payments with your tax records. You may need to refer to this letter when you file your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season.

• A qualifying child who resided with you may change homes during 2021 and reside more than half of the 2021 tax year with a different individual.
• Your income increases in 2021.
• Your filing status changes for 2021.
• Your main home was outside of the United States for more than half of 2021.

As a result of these types of ordinary family and life changes, you may receive a total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that exceeds the amount of Child Tax Credit that you properly are allowed on your 2021 tax return.

 HOW TO UNENROLL FROM ADVANCED PAYMENTS

The IRS has created a special Advance Child Tax Credit 2021 page at IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021, designed to provide the most up-to-date information about the credit and the advance payments. The above site will soon add an interactive Child Tax Credit eligibility assistant to help families determine whether they qualify for the Advance Child Tax Credit payments.

If you aren’t required to file a tax return and haven’t given the IRS your information already, you will need to provide basic information for the Child Tax Credit using the Non-filer Sign-up tool.

Watch out for scams

The IRS urges everyone to be on the lookout for scams related to both Advance Child Tax Credit payments and Economic Impact Payments. The IRS emphasized that the only way to get either of these benefits is by either filing a tax return with the IRS or registering online through the Non-filer Sign-up tool, exclusively on IRS.gov. Any other option is a scam.

Watch out for scams using email, phone calls or texts related to the payments. Be careful and cautious: The IRS never sends unsolicited electronic communications asking anyone to open attachments or visit a non-governmental web site.

CAI Graduates Participate in Webinar with National Partners

Community Advocacy Institute (CAI) graduates Maritza Rivera and Vanessa Pierre joined CAA staff for a National Community Action Partnership Learning and Practice Transformation Center webinar on June 10.  The session, which brought together members of a national cohort of CAA representatives, focused on engaging community members with lived experience.  Maritza and Vanessa answered a series of questions about their experience in the CAI and why the program is effective in engaging people with lower incomes in advocacy work.  Maritza and Vanessa shared their advice for other CAAs that would like to increase participation by context experts, as the CAI is considered a best practice.

Special Event Celebrates CAI Graduates

The Community Action Board hosted a special “grab and go” event on June 12 to honor the graduates of the 2020 and 2021 Community Advocacy Institute (CAI) programs.  Since both of these cohorts had virtual graduation ceremonies, this event provided an in-person opportunity to highlight the graduates’ accomplishments.

Graduates stopped by a table set up outside of the Community Action Agency’s office building and were greeted with cheers by board members and staff.  Each graduate received a Community Action gift bag to celebrate their accomplishment. Planning for the 2021 – 2022 CAI is underway and the Board will begin accepting applications in late July.  An announcement will be sent to the CAA distribution list when the application is available.

Montgomery County 
Community Action Agency
1401 Rockville Pike, 3rd Fl.
Rockville, MD 20852
240-777-1697 (main)

• Website
• Facebook
• Contact 

March 2020 - March 2021 Community Action Highlights:

The Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center staff served, on average, over 700 participants each month, over 25 percent of whom were new to the Department of Health and Human Services. Most families requested assistance with two or more problems, including assistance in obtaining food, health care, and housing. Staff supported families in navigating access to public and private resources, which often required multiple connections between families and our team.  

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program team—our two staff members, one fellow, and a dedicated group of returning volunteers—delivered free tax help to 1,025 households. Our staff continued to provide outreach with partners and the community to provide timely information about important changes from the IRS, such as economic impact payments, and expansions to the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits. 

The agency and Board worked in partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), the Head Start delegate, to assure that children and parents were engaged in learning and received the support they needed. The Board also helped to build a better early care and education system by launching The Basics.

The Community Action Board continued its effective advocacy with local and state officials, developed new collaborations, and gave additional hours through their support of the Community Advocacy Institute’s first virtual cohort of participants. 

The contract monitoring team maintained its responsiveness to our 30+ partners that deliver critically needed supports, such as social services, legal help and food, including a 20 percent increase in County funding. The team also provided key updates about resources to our contract partners. 

2021 – 2022 School Year Registration  MCPS is registering three-year-old and 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. QR code to HS registration link in English and Spanish.

Community Action Partner Spotlight: Emergency Assistance

During the covid-19 pandemic, the County Department of Health and Human Services received federal funds to establish a Covid-19 Rent Relief program, among programs to provide housing stabilization. Several Community Action contract partners also assist County residents who are behind in rent and/or utilities payments or in need of clothing, including the following organizations.

The Eastern Montgomery Emergency Assistance Network (EMEAN) specializes in assisting residents in Colesville, Cloverly, Hillandale, Burtonsville, and Spencerville (Zip codes 20903, 20904, 20905, 20866 & 20868). Referrals are mainly through DHHS/Emergency Services and self-referrals for prescriptions are accepted only with required documentation. The agency assists in prevention of eviction and utility disconnection and in obtaining prescriptions. Assistance is provided to eligible individuals or families in crisis once within a twelve-month period. Eligibility requirements include proof of address, picture ID, referral, proof of income, and proof of need. In the last fiscal year, EMEAN served 64 residents with a total of $16,523.22.

In fiscal year 2020, the staff at the Wheaton location of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington assisted 1,459 people with help paying their rent and 918 people received assistance with utilities. The Wheaton Catholic Charities location also offers case management, food, diapers, and employment assistance. In total 17,707 units of service were provided last year.

Family Services, Inc., a division of Sheppard Pratt, provides assistance in Silver Spring, at the East County Regional Services Center, and in Gaithersburg. Last fiscal year in Silver Spring, 40 households received assistance with utilities, and over 89 households received rental assistance. In Gaithersburg, over 54 households received utility assistance and 244 received rental assistance. Both sites offer full case management assistance to address other household needs, such as referrals to legal assistance, healthcare, food, housing, and employment assistance. Across both sites, 1,623 units of service were provided last year.

Also serving Montgomery County from sites in Gaithersburg and Silver Spring, the Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington (KCSCGW) offers assistance with rent and food. KCSCGW assists as many as 40 people in a month with living costs reduction assistance, such as budgeting tips, and referrals to rental assistance, subsidized housing, and housing-related tax credits.

Two Community Action partners provide free clothing: The Interfaith Clothing Center, operated by Interfaith Works on Twinbrook Parkway in Rockville, and the Colesville Council of Community Congregations (C-4) on the county’s eastern border. Both sites provide clothes for all ages, including babies, and in past years have provided backpacks of school supplies. In the last fiscal year, the Interfaith Clothing Center served 12,370 unduplicated individuals (6,918 adults, 5,452 children) and 1,455 volunteers contributed 19,126 hours to Interfaith Clothing Center services. Last fiscal year, the Colesville Council of Community Congregations (C-4) served the 273 families in the Baby Closet program; 55 of these families were new service recipients.

Community Action is grateful to the hard work of our community partners to keep Montgomery County residents housed and living with dignity. Additional utilities assistance resources are in the below Resources section.

Resources:

Save the Date! Montgomery College presents the 2021 Conference for Single Parents, August 14 (online).

The County's covid-19 vaccination site in Germantown will soon change locations. The Montgomery College site will close on July 2. Starting on July 6, the County will offer at the Upcounty Regional Services Center. More information on County covid-19 vaccinations: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/

Montgomery County COVID-19 information website

Montgomery County COVID-19 hotline in English: 240-777-1755, and in Spanish: 301-270-8432

Covid-19 Rent Relief, Phase 3

Covid-19 Economic Impact Payment and American Rescue Plan Act information

Asian American Health Initiative's COVID-19 Resource Guide

Latino Health Initiative Covid-19 Information

African American Health Program Covid-19 Resources

Food assistance information during the emergency

Montgomery County Public Schools Meals Distribution Sites

CFPB Your Money, Your Goals

CFPB Financial Education Tools in Multiple Languages

Information from Protecting Immigrant Families about immigrant eligibility for public programs.

Unemployment Insurance 

Office of Home Energy Programs – Utilities assistance

WSSC water & sewer bill assistance in English and Spanish. Call Center Advisors: 301-206-4001.

Family violence prevention 

Diaper distribution

Maternal health services

The Community Action Agency is part of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Affairs.