EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Families across Texas will take advantage of the American Rescue Act by investing under the American Families Plan.
The American family plan, announced April 28, is an investment in the foundations of middle class prosperity through education, health care and childcare, according to the White House. The Biden government hopes that helping families meet basic costs by increasing productivity and economic growth will result in economic returns.
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higher education
The higher education price tag means 55 percent of Texas students complete a post-secondary degree within six years. In the United States, high schools with a large minority and high poverty rate reported an enrollment rate of around 10 percent. The American Families Plan calls for students, including DREAMers, to receive free community college for at least two years.
Pell Grant awards will be increased by approximately $ 1,400 to support students in Texas who rely on Pell for their education and to provide scholarships to improve college retention and graduation.
It also supports institutions that serve minorities, including UTEP.
Universal preschool
Attending preschool introduces students to skills that will prepare them for success, such as socialization, time management, and responsibility. In Texas, only 39 percent of 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are enrolled in publicly funded preschools.
The American Families Plan gives all 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds free access to a quality preschool, which the Biden administration says will help parents get back to work.
In addition, each employee in funded preschool programs will receive a minimum of $ 15 hourly wages and compensation and benefits equivalent to kindergarten educators with similar qualifications.
Investments by teachers
The U.S. faced an estimated 100,000 teacher shortage prior to the pandemic, which resulted in teachers having to complete training outside of their areas of specialization or positions that remain vacant. In Texas there was a 16 percent decrease in new teachers.
Areas of high need such as bilingualism and special education suffer from the lack of qualified teachers, which the White House says is worsening. Additionally, the Biden administration says it is important that teachers reflect the communities they serve.
In Texas, 41 percent of teachers are educators of color, while children of color make up 73 percent of the state’s student population.
The American Families Plan is investing $ 9 billion in teachers to address bottlenecks, improve teacher preparation, recruit color teachers, and use experienced teachers to support and train new educators.
childcare
The average annual cost for toddlers in Texas is $ 9,400, which means a two-parent household spends more than 10 percent of its income on childcare each year. The lack of access to affordable childcare adds to the challenges faced by women in the workforce by adding to the gender gap between working mothers and fathers of 26 percent in the government workforce.
In Texas, 48 percent of residents live in regions that currently do not meet the childcare needs of the community.
The American Families Plan will allow low- and middle-income families to pay no more than 7 percent of their annual income for high-quality childcare, which the Biden Administration says will benefit more than 500,000 children under the age of 5 in Texas.
The hourly wage for childcare workers is currently around $ 10 and is increasing to at least $ 15. These wages also include remuneration and benefits comparable to kindergarten teachers with similar qualifications.
Paid vacation
Data suggests that paid vacations decrease racial wealth gaps, improve child health, improve employee retention, and also increase women’s participation in the labor force. Across the country, more than 110 million workers do not have access to paid family vacations. Almost 84 million people do not have access to paid medical vacations.
The low-wage workers, often women and people of color, have the lowest access to paid vacations. For example, 95 percent do not have paid family leave, while 91 percent do not have paid medical leave.
The American Families Plan will create national and comprehensive family and sick leave programs to ensure workers receive partial government reimbursement when caring for a critically ill loved one, engaging in a loved one’s military engagement, and finding safety from sexual assault , Stalking or domestic violence and healing from a serious illness of your own.
Child nutrition
Almost 20 percent of children in Texas live in households with unsafe diets, while 34 percent of children in the state are obese. Investments from the American Families Plan will ensure the children’s nutritional needs are met by expanding free school meals to an additional 1,482,000 students by providing 3,654,000 children with summer resources to purchase groceries.
Health care
The Biden Administration plans to build on the Affordable Care Act to lower the cost of prescription drugs, lower premiums, lower the Medicare registration age to 60, create a public option, and fill the Medicaid coverage gap, to help people get health insurance.
The American Rescue Plan provides two years or reduced health insurance premiums for those who purchase their own coverage and will make those premium reductions permanent. More than 600,000 uninsured people in Texas will be insured while more than 1 million will save hundreds of dollars in premiums annually.
Most families save $ 50 per person per month on health insurance.
In addition, the American Families Plan supports maternal health and the families of veterans who receive health services.
Tax cuts
In Texas, 15 percent of children under the age of 18 (1.1 million children) are considered poor. The investments from the American Families Plan are designed to improve financial security and fuel economic growth in the state by lowering taxes for the middle class and those who want to break into the plan.
For example, the American Rescue Plan child tax credit increases to $ 3,000 per child over 6 years of age and $ 3,600 per child under 6 years of age through 2025.
The loan is fully refundable, so low-income families may receive the same loan as middle-income families. The expansion will have a positive impact on more than 6 million children in Texas, including 4.7 million children of color.
Child poverty in Texas is to be reduced by 44 percent.
Family and childcare needs are addressed by permanently increasing the temporary expansion of the tax credit for those in need of children and care. Families receive a tax credit equal to half of their childcare expenses for children under the age of 13. This means families can earn up to $ 4,000 for one child and $ 8,000 for two or more children.
The 50 percent reimbursement is made available to families earning less than $ 125,000 per year.
All families earning between $ 125,000 and $ 400,000 will receive a partial credit.
In addition, the Earned Income Tax Credit extension for childless workers will be rolled out permanently to support low-wage workers that will benefit 1.5 million people in Texas. Many of these workers are important workers and 65 percent are colored people.
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