Thousands of families in Pennsylvania could soon get some extra money under the new child tax credit plan. The objective of this new child care tax credit from Pennsylvania is to help families meet the rising costs of gas, food and utilities. It is estimated that more than 200,000 families in the state could qualify for a payment of up to $630.

Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Program

Governor Tom Wolf announced about the new child care tax credit plan, called the Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Program, a couple of months back. It has now been highlighted by the Department of Human Services (DHS) as a plan that can “help ease child care costs for working families.”

Rising child care costs is a burden for working families, and if it gets unaffordable, it can keep parents away from the workforce. Also, it could keep children out of early learning programs. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the average cost of infant care in Pennsylvania is around $12,000.

Separately, studies show that children with access to high-quality childcare and Pre-K programs perform comparatively better in school and are more likely to graduate as well. Additionally, high-quality early learning programs also help children develop the social and emotional skills required to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

Possibly these are the reasons why the Wolf Administration’s 2022-23 state budget includes this new child tax credit program, called the Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Program. The Wolf administration has set aside $25 million to send the credit to eligible families.

“I wanted to create this state-level child care tax credit to support our hard working families, our workforce, our children, and our combined success in this commonwealth,” Gov. Wolf said previously.

New Child Care Tax Credit From Pennsylvania: Who Will Get It And How Much?

Pennsylvania’s latest child tax credit plan would benefit working families with children in child care, who qualified for the federal child and dependent care tax credit. The credit would be available to eligible families starting in 2023 after they file their state taxes.

Over 220,000 families received the federal credit in the state, and around the same number of families could qualify for this new stimulus check from Pennsylvania as well.

Eligible families with income above $43,000 will get $180 if they have one child or $360 if they have two or more children. Similarly, families with income less than $43,000 will get $315 if they have one child or $630 if they have two or more children.

Along with this new child tax credit, Gov. Wolf has come up with many other stimulus programs that directly or indirectly benefit residents, including $140 million in direct property tax relief, $375 million for safe and affordable housing, $90 million to stabilize the child care workforce, $1 million for a Hunger Free Campus Initiative and $100 million for adult mental health services.

This article originally appeared on ValueWalk

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