In the News

Starting next month, most families with children in Washington state can expect to begin receiving up to $300 in monthly payments as part of the new expanded child tax credit.

Tucked into the federal government’s COVID-19 aid package known as the American Rescue Plan, the expanded credit is a key part of what some consider a breakthrough anti-poverty initiative.

But in order for it to be successful, federal officials say they must make sure eligible families who need it most actually get the money.

On Monday — dubbed by the White House as Child Tax Credit Awareness Day — U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Medina, promoted the expanded policy at a news conference in Seattle held at El Centro de la Raza.

Joined by a handful of parents and community advocates, DelBene, who pushed for the policy before it was included in the federal aid package, touted how many more families could benefit from the expansion.

"The child tax credit is the largest federal investment that we make in our children,” she said. “But until the American Rescue Plan, it left behind one third of all kids and families who earn too little to earn the full benefit.”

“Many families aren’t aware that the benefit is coming,” DelBene added later. “So we need to change that.”