NC families who haven’t received a $335 relief check have just days left to apply
North Carolina parents with children under 17 still have time to get a one-time $335 payment from the state.
Families have until July 1 to submit an application for the Extra Credit Grant program, created by the General Assembly in 2020 using federal coronavirus relief money, if they have not already received a check.
The program, championed by Republican Senate leader Phil Berger, began distributing funds in October as a way to help families with remote learning and child care costs during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1.1 million families have received a combined $379 million in grants so far.
Lawmakers opted to extend the deadline to apply for the funds twice this year, after the state still had some $62 million left to dole out at the end of 2020, The News & Observer reported. As of Tuesday, the state Department of Revenue said it still had more than $8.8 million left in funding but did not know how many more people might apply ahead of the deadline.
Families who filed a state tax return in 2019 and lived in North Carolina for the entirety of the year were eligible for the $335 checks. Those who didn’t file a tax return were asked to apply for the funds instead.
State Auditor Beth Wood criticized that application process in an April audit, saying the state should’ve found a way to automatically send checks to families who didn’t make enough to file a 2019 return.
Because of the way the process was executed, some low-income families and those most in need did not receive the grants, Wood found.
Going forward, Wood recommended that the state make automatic payments for similar programs by using information available from other public assistance programs, like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The department says it will send checks out as soon as possible to the address provided on the 2019 state tax return or the online application.
Families can also submit a change of address request, if needed.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 12:23 PM.
