Families
The Economic Stimulus package is offering much needed help to families struggling with child care and educational worries. Tens of billions of dollars will aid in helping family life, from new help with child care payments to fresh college aid.
The new version of the economic stimulus plan would add $2 billion over two years to federal child care block grants that support subsidies for struggling parents. With the help of this money, it would free up time for mom and dad to be able to work, and look for jobs. It will also increase teacherŐs salaries and budgets for school materials.
With the stimulus funding, it could help to create 300,000 more places for children in day cares.
The plan also will increase funding to Head Start and Early Head Start , popular early learning programs for lower income families. According to the Law and Social Policy Center, $2.1 billion in new money will go to these programs. This would help parents by creating hundreds of thousand of places for toddlers and preschoolers in Head Start classrooms.
Families will also benefit from the more traditional economic relief: extended unemployment benefits, tax credits aimed at helping families be able to keep their health care coverage, and jobs building bridges and roads.
More than $40 billion will go towards academic support, special education, and helping elementary, middle and high schools to become more modern. An expansion of the per-child tax credit for parents. Billions of dollars will go to Pell grants which help students to pay for college. Over $300 billion will go to military bases , for child development centers.
Starting in June, millions of workers can expect to see about $13 extra in their weekly paychecks. This is part of a $400 tax credit to be spread out for the rest of the year. Unemployment benefits will be increased by $25 per week.
A $1,000 child tax credit will be extended to more lower income families, who do not make enough money to pay income taxes. Low income families with three or more children will get an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit.
The whole stimulus package is going to give much needed help to families. It will help to increase the number of families that go to work. The number of jobs is expected to grow. Child care spending could help to revive this struggling economy. If we want good, smart people in the work force, we have to give them the opportunity to get good quality child care.
If you have children you may qualify for a family grant program that will receive additional funding this year through the Federal Stimulus Plan. Single parent families will have more grants available to them and can apply for funding with the help of a free grant kit.