January, 2016
The Annual Report is here!
Our 2014-2015 Annual Report covering the second year of our 2013-2017 Strategic Plan is here. The report is organized around 4 result areas and reflects the work of all our partners:
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Stable, supportive, and nurturing environments for children
- Children are prepared for school through quality Early Experiences
- Children Reach their Optimal Developmental Outcomes
- Comprehensive, coordinated early childhood system in Alameda County
We’ve worked passionately and collaboratively to provide high quality services to young children in Alameda County and hope the hard work is reflected in our report. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions or suggestions on how we can advance our communities collective work of helping children thrive.
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We write the FYI Newsletter every month with you in mind, so we want to know more about what you like to read. Our goal is to create a more interactive newsletter that serves the early childhood community here in Alameda County. Please take 5 minutes to fill out this simple survey. Enter your email at the end, and we’ll enter you in a raffle to win one of three award-winning, California Newsreel documentaries.
Research shows that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the federal tax credit for low- and moderate-income working people, has huge benefits for families. The Center on Policy and Budget Solutionsfound that “lifting low-income families’ income when a child is young not only tends to improve a child’s immediate well-being, but is associated with better health, more schooling, more hours worked, and higher earnings in adulthood.”.
This year California has joined 25 other U.S. states with a supplemental state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) beginning in tax year 2015 for low income families.
We’re thrilled to be joining the Earn it! Keep it! Save it! Campaign to get the word out about this crucial support.
The new California credit has the potential to make a huge difference in lives of low-income families, with the estimated average household benefit at $460 per year with a maximum credit of more than $2,600 for a family with three or more qualifying children (this is in addition to the federal EITC of up to $6,044 for the same size family!). Check out an interactive tool from the California Budget and Policy Center, which shows how much families and individuals can expect to receive from both the state and federal credits based on their tax filing status, the number of children they support, and their annual earnings from work.
We’re collaborating with CalEITC4me and Earn it! Keep it! Save it! to ensure that eligible Californians claim this new tax credit. We’re getting the word out through our networks and encouraging our grantees and other partners to do the same. If you need materials to share with the families you work with, or want to chat with us about how you can be involved in this effort, please contact Barrie McClune barrie.mcclune@first5alameda.org
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