Program aims to get child tax credit payments in hands of more Rochester families

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — With monthly federal child tax credit payments starting to arrive this week, Monroe County is helping eligible families receive their payments.

Parents or guardians can now get monthly payments of up to $300 per child under 6, and $250 for children 6 through 17. Payments will be made from July through December 2021.

Empire Justice Center‘s Creating Assets, Savings & Hope (CASH) is helping those who did not file taxes either this year or last year. The IRS says if you’re in that position, you must update your information with them to receive the benefit.

That’s where the CASH program steps in, to help people navigate the sometimes confusing and difficult process.

Jason DeLooze knows about this all too well growing up in a single-parent household. DeLooze, along with his son, Roman, just received their first monthly child tax credit payment.

"Seeing that $300 deposit yesterday was very meaningful," DeLooze said. "It means more birthday gifts, more school supplies. It means an easier way to pay my rent, and that’s very meaningful to my family."

The CASH program says 4,000 local families qualify but don’t know that they do. Program Director Yversha Roman says you automatically qualify if you filed your 2019 and 2020 tax returns.

"There are families who qualify for this credit who are considered low income, or no income, and they didn’t do anything illegal," Roman said. "They did not have to file their taxes in the past, but now if they do file, they will receive this credit, so we’re seeking those families."

"Families that may be in need, that may not be able to navigate the system because of all of the reasons that the deputy county executive talked about," Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said. "They don’t have access to internet, they may not know how to navigate the system, they haven’t filed their taxes because they did not make enough money in the last year to file their taxes. So, for those 4,000 families that are in our community, we are thankful that we have an organization like CASH that is going to be able to help them be able to get the access to the dollars that they need to take care of their families."

Click here to see if you qualify for child tax credit payments. Visit CashCTC.org or call CASH at (585) 900-1004 if you have questions or need help signing up for the benefit.