The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan provides the largest Child Tax Credit ever and historic relief to the most working families ever – and, as of July 15th, most families are automatically receiving monthly payments of $250 or $300 per child without having to take any action.

For the first time, eligible households are getting direct cash payments for raising children rather than a credit on their annual taxes.

The annual value of the benefit is up to $3,000 for each child ages 6-17, and $3,600 for children younger than age 6.

• According to researchers, the provision in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan that expands the Child Tax Credit (CTC) will reduce child poverty by 45 percent. 
• Low-income families with children are eligible for this crucial tax relief – including those who have not made enough money to be required to file taxes.

Go Deeper:

• The Expanded Child Tax Credit Is Here. Here's What You Need To Know- NPR

• https://www.whitehouse.gov/child-tax-credit/childctc/

Recently, Council passed more than $1.1 million in legislation to support Black women and girls. The funds will support employment, leadership, enrichment and empowerment programs for organizations such as IMPACT Community Action, The Center for Healthy Families, Image Character Etiquette Inc./Eryn PiNK, and PMM Agency. Further, The Ohio State University’s College of Social Work will be working with the juvenile courts to lead a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction program for Black girls aimed at promoting restoration and healing that will reduce the potential for law-breaking behavior. 

“Reimagining Public Safety has to incorporate proactive measures to provide residents with the resources they need to thrive,” said Councilmember Priscilla Tyson. “Specifically, I am focusing on Black girls because we learned from the Quality of Life of Black Girls in Columbus, Ohio, report that Black girls are burdened with stigmas that rob them of their girlhood; and this causes a number of adverse consequences.”

Click here to view the report.

This issue brief by Asset Funders Network lays out how care impacts economic recovery, family economic security and asset building, equity and justice, and the well-being of children, older adults, and people with disabilities.

It highlights the polices needed around child care and early education, paid leave, long-term services and supports (LTSS) and related issues, and the ways philanthropy can engage to support the organizations and coalitions working to build the health care economy America needs.

Financial Counseling Provider

The City of Columbus is seeking a nonprofit agency to serve as the provider of financial counseling services for a new Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) Program. The FEC Program will be based on a model developed by Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund). Launched in 2008, FECs are operating or being planned in 35 cities and counties nationwide. To date, FECs have worked with more than 116,000 clients, helping them to reduce their debt by more than $160 million and increase their savings by $26 million.

The City of Columbus is in the process of planning for the launch of its FEC in spring 2022, and the chosen provider will be a key partner in the design and implementation of the Program.

Please click here to learn more.

• Questions Due Date: Aug 2, 2021, 12:00 p.m. EDT
• Closing Date: Aug 13, 2021, 11:00 a.m. EDT

Emergency Rental Assistance

The City of Columbus is pleased to announce the release of a Notice of Financial Award (NOFA) for the Stable Housing Initiative. The purpose of this NOFA is to find and award funding to organizations that are able to provide outreach, intake, rental and utility assistance, and support services for hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations experiencing housing instability.

The Stable Housing Initiative will provide organizations with rental and utility assistance, and housing stability services for residents of the local area who qualify for the assistance as provided in the laws, regulations and other current guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance 1 (ERA 1), CFDA 21.023.

This NOFA of ERA1 funding makes available $10,000,000 for requests of up to $1,000,000 per applicant. Selected applicants will be considered Subrecipients and subject to all Subrecipient regulations under this federal program.

The application period for the Stable Housing Initiative is open from Monday July 19, 2021, to Monday August 2, 2021.

Deadline for submission of proposals is 5 p.m. local time on Monday, August 2, 2021. Applications received after this date and time shall not be accepted. This NOFA will cover a grant program period of January 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022.

The city has partnered with the United Way of Central Ohio (UWCO) to provide an online proposal submission process. All documents are to be submitted through UWCO’s portal, e-CImpact.

The application link to submit the proposal is provided CLICK HERE.  https://agency.e-cimpact.com/login.aspx?org=37145F

Black Women’s Equal Pay Day: Waiting Another Century is Not an Option:  July 29

The COVID-19 pandemic and related recession have both highlighted the persistent racial and gendered economic inequalities that Black women face in the labor market and exacerbated them. Black women were overrepresented in many low-paying jobs recognized as "essential" during the pandemic but dismissed as "low-skilled" before. Despite this recognition, these jobs continue to be undervalued with low wages and few benefits, and if pay trends continue, it will take Black women more than another 100 years — until 2133 — to reach pay equity with white men.

Join the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and Equal Pay Today for a discussion of recent research on the pay gap for Black women, the causes and consequences of racial and gender pay disparities, and policy strategies for pay equity. Waiting another century is not an option.

Click here to register.

Tackling the Benefits Cliff:  August 3

Both employers and workers across Ohio have been plagued by the situation known as the "benefit cliff", which occurs when lower-income workers move up the income scale but then fall outside of the eligibility range for federal and state support programs. A new "Employment Incentive Program" has been created to provide cash stipends to help offset reductions in public assistance benefits for participants who achieve certain benchmarks. This will put beneficiaries on a path toward self-sufficiency and success, and improve the ability of employers to hire workers to meet their business needs and remove impediments to advancing or promoting valuable employees.

So that employers and local officials can learn more about this new statewide program, we are hosting a free, virtual information session on Tuesday, August 3, from 11 a.m. to noon.

Attendees will learn about:

• The pilot program in Allen County that served as the model for the state;
• How the Employment Incentive Program can be copied in other parts of Ohio;
• The program as approved in the state budget through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services;
• Real-life examples of how this program will benefit employees and employers.

There will be time for questions and answers.

Click here to register.

The Columbus Women's Commission is participating in an important project with Central Ohio Women in Trades, Chicago Women in Trades and Action for Children among other local collaborators to evaluate the challenges of finding child care, especially for Central Ohio women working in the trades. The goal of the project is to develop a model that will increase access to child care and address the specific challenges facing families who work in the trades, including the need to accommodate overtime and third-shift hours.

A short survey was developed to inform the project and is available here: https://www.womeninthetrade.com/. If you are working in the trades or other nontraditional employment, we encourage you to participate.