A newly developed document titled “Connecting Families to Tax Credits to Improve Child Wellbeing in California: A Brief for California Local Health Departments and Children & Family Service Providers" has just been released and can be found attached to this blog post.

This document is intended to assist Local Health Departments (LHDs) and children & family service providers in their efforts to educate about how the collection of the California Earned Income Tax (CalEITC), California Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), federal EITC, federal child tax credit, and other associated tax credits can improve the wellbeing of Californians. Though filing taxes is only required if one’s gross income meets the threshold established by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), families with low incomes can still benefit from filing (even outside of the tax season) because they can receive refundable tax credits. There are many free and easy ways to file including governmental and non-governmental resources and free tax preparation applications (apps). Thus, educating Californians about the importance of filing ones taxes in order to receive the associated benefits such as qualifying for CalEITC, YCTC, and federal and state stimulus checks, is one mechanism to improve the lives of Californian families and strengthen economic supports.