NORWALK — Of the 100 children enrolled at Room to Grow preschool on East Avenue, 93 are from families in the lowest bracket of state median income, according to a school administrator.
While the school has a capacity of 132, only 100 students are enrolled, Room to Grow Assistant Director Wendy Faticoni said. Of those students, 93 fall under 75 percent of the state median income.
With many of the school’s families in need, the preschool encouraged parents to sign up for the child tax rebate.
“They are hard-working families who are trying their best, but struggle day-to-day to put food on their tables, fill up their cars with gas and deal with the overall inflation,” Faticoni said. “Raising children is expensive. Everyday costs, including child care, really add up.”
The school also offers center-based counseling and a fully stocked food pantry in the school’s family resource center. As many of the school’s students are eligible for the card tax rebate, the teachers have found creative ways to encourage parents to receive the rebate.
“We are school readiness funded, meaning that families pay tuition on a sliding scale based on income and family size. Even so, our families struggle to pay tuition,” Faticoni said. “Our goal today is to get the word out about this child tax rebate so families like ours throughout the state can get the support that they truly need. We have given out flyers, talked to parents individually and, because the application is simple and can be completed on a tablet or smartphone, we sent out a text message with the link to all of our families.”
In Connecticut, more than 350,000 families qualify for the rebate, but about one-third have completed the application, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said Tuesday during a visit to Norwalk.
“We know that thousands of families in Norwalk are eligible, and we need to get the word out. Of the 350,000 families (statewide) that are eligible, over 90,000 have applied but we still have work to do to fully get the message out,” Bysiewicz said. “A family will not get the rebate unless they apply through the Department of Revenue Services website. It’s very simple, once you go there it only takes a minute or two to apply.”
Applications, however, must be submitted by July 31, which is why city and state officials are working to spread awareness.
“On June 1, we started getting thousands of applications because people have already got the word out, but we want to make sure we participate in places like this, childcare centers, our school systems, that families know to take that affirmative step, and this is a significant amount of money that a family can receive,” Bysiewicz said.
Infants through 18-year-olds can be counted toward a child tax rebate, Bysiewicz said. Families can receive $250 per child, up to three children. In total, a family can receive a maximum of $750.
Along with income requirements, parents must have claimed at least one child 18 or younger as a dependent on the 2021 federal income tax return and be a Connecticut resident, according to the child tax rebate informational website.
People who filed their taxes as a single, or are married but filed separately, and earn an annual income of $100,000 or less, a head of household who makes $169,000 or less and married couples who make a combined $200,000 or less are all eligible for the rebate, Bysiewicz said.
“If you have three kids, $750 is trips to the grocery store, to the gas station, back-to-school clothes come the fall,” Bysiewicz said.
Residents can apply for the rebate online, seek assistance over the phone by calling 211 or contacting local Volunteer Income Tax Preparers, Bysiewicz said.
0 Comments