Friday, July 26, 2024
7/26/2024
“Protecting against ACEs in Baltimore through the EITC” draws on significant strengths in both collaboration and implementation for partners, both on ACEs and the EITC. This project leverages research, implementation experiences, and more than two decades of work history in Baltimore and across the state of Maryland. Participants will be drawn from a majority of the 43 Census Tracts designated as Opportunity Zones in Baltimore City. The partners have unique access and proximity to the target populations as the preeminent medical institutions and government initiatives across Baltimore City and the region. The partners include University of Maryland School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore City Health Department (B’More Healthy Babies Initiative), HealthCare Access Maryland, and the CASH Campaign of Maryland. The evaluation partner is the University of Maryland School of Social Work (The Institute for Innovation and Implementation). The target population for this project are pregnant women, first time moms, and parents of children under the age of 18. The population being served will primarily be low-income African American/Black females who are Medicaid eligible, with children who are eligible for SCHIP. The population has some amount of work history in the last three years, making them likely eligible for the EITC. Many patients and their caregivers have had exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including parental incarceration, witnessing violence in their homes and communities, parental substance use and mental health problems. This project will test two hypotheses: 1. Embedding EITC outreach and access to free tax preparation into existing health services will increase receipt and maximize the value of the EITC. 2. Clients/patients who receive the EITC will have increased protective factors against ACEs. Baltimore City residents are disproportionately poorer than the rest of the state and the nation overall. In Baltimore City, 18% of households live in poverty, but that number is much more powerful when considering the disparity by race. The poverty rate drops to 7% for white households and 8% for Asian households and rises to 23% for Black households, 20% for Latino households, and 36% for Native American households. (source: Prosperity Now Scorecard). As more people rely on the traditional "safety net", resources to support these vital programs are stretched thin and do not have the same impact on families as the infusion of cash that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) delivers. The EITC and other tax credits targeting the working poor are a fundamental tool to alleviate poverty. The EITC's ability to strengthen the stability of families is well documented. Studies that have found that the EITC encourages work, reduces poverty, helps families meet basic needs, and improves children's achievement in school and likely increases their earnings as adults. Despite these successes, nationally 25% of eligible workers still don't claim the EITC each year. Recent IRS reports indicate that almost 30% of Baltimore’s population receives the EITC and less than 4% are utilizing free tax preparation services to receive their refund. In Baltimore City, low-income families fail to claim an estimated $50 million in tax credits and refunds annually. The project will test hypotheses in three main settings. 1. Embed 1-2 screening questions for EITC eligibility in Care Coordination and referrals to free tax preparation. 2. Embed 1-2 screening questions for EITC eligibility, EITC outreach materials, and navigation assistance through home visiting, particularly through Nurse-Family Partnership and Healthy Families America sites. 3. Conduct EITC outreach and in-person intake for remote free tax preparation at pediatric clinics (primary care and specialty practices). This project builds on decades of experience by all partners involved and will lead to meaningful increases in the EITC by the target pop
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
