Jennifer Greppi, a single mom of two daughters, worried for years about her daughter’s teeth. “She was always in a lot of pain, had nightmares, and was really miserable. She couldn’t eat hot foods and we had to warm up cold water for her,” she says. Denti-Cal didn’t cover the care her daughter needed.

Greppi heard about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC, see Fight poverty with bigger tax refunds) at a Parent Voices rally and got help with her tax form at a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance center. After her refund paid for the dental work, her daughter “was like a new child,” she says. The next refund helped Greppi pay off debt, repair her car, save some money, and take a family vacation. “As a single mom, I never have extra money, much less thousands of dollars,” she says.

Greppi now works for 4C’s of Alameda County and as a Parent Voices organizer—and tells parents about the EITC.

This fall Parent Voices is making a point of telling parents about important benefits for families “anywhere parents gather,” says statewide organizer Mary Ignatius. They’re highlighting the EITC and paid family leave.

“I wanted to be there”

In Santa Rosa, Lori Siebler wanted to take time off from work to bond with her partner’s new baby. She applied for paid family leave (see Paid leave for family care) as a registered domestic partner and received partial pay for five weeks of missed work.

“The first six weeks of a baby’s life are so important and I wanted to be there for my partner,” she says. “Now, as soon as I come home, he’s fussy until I hold him.” Siebler is a case manager for 4C’s of Sonoma County, a member of Parent Voices, and mother of two older children, ages 6 and 14.

Paid Family Leave

Paid Family Leave helps workers take time off to bond with a new child (birth, adoption, or foster care) or care for a seriously ill family member. Workers who pay State Disability Insurance receive around 55% of their wages (up to $840 a week, in 2006) for up to six weeks each year.

Contact the Employment Development Division, 877-BE-THERE (English), 866-658-8846 (Spanish), 800-547-3506 (Cantonese), 800-547-2058 (Vietnamese), or visit www.edd.ca.gov

Earned income tax credits provide tax refunds up to $4,400 for eligible families whose children (including foster and adopted children) are under 19 and lived with them more than half of last year—or are full-time students.

For tax help, go to a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) center. To find one, call 800-829-1040 or go to www.ftb.ca.gov 

Parent Voices contacts:

Statewide: Mary Ignatius, 415-882-0234. mignatius@rrnetwork.org
Alameda (Hayward): Jennifer Greppi, 510-584-3115, jenniferf@4c-alameda.org
Alameda (Oakland): Janet Zamudio, 510-658-7353, janet@bananasinc.org
Amador: Brenda Bullington, 209-223-1624, ext. 109, Brenda@hrcccr.org
Butte: Jane Haberman, 530-895-1677, jhaberman@valleyoakchildren.org
Calaveras: Cheryl Berg, 209-754-1075, ext. 115, cberg@hrcccr.org Contra Costa: Candy Duperroir, 925-778-4739, candy@cocokids.org
El-Dorado: Heather Della Ripa, 530-541-5848, hscfcslt@pacbell.net Fresno: Lourdes Hernandez, 559-456-1100, louh@cvcsn.org
Los Ángeles: Christine Giron, 323-421-2602, cgiron@crystalstairs.org Marin: Leah Benz, 415-491-5776, leah@mc3.org
Sacramento: Rachel Minnick, 916-369-3387, Rachel.Minnick@childaction.org
San Francisco: Maria Luz Torre, 415-343-3383, parentvoices@childrenscouncil.org
San Mateo: Nelly Puhachevsky, 650-655-6770, ext. 283, nelly@sanmateo4cs.org
Santa Barbara: contact statewide organizers
Santa Clara: Mario Del Castillo, 408-487-0747, mariod@4c.org
Solano: Kathy Lago, 707-864-4620,
klago@solanosfcs.org
Sonoma: Lorie Siebler, 707-522-1413, lsiebler@sonoma4cs.org