Gov. Maura Healey announces expanded child and family tax credit and outreach at Educare Springfield

Governor Maura Healey announced expanded state tax credits and a public outreach push at Educare Springfield, saying the changes are meant to put money back into the pockets of families and seniors and urging residents to use local tax-assistance resources.

"This is about saving you money," Governor Maura Healey said during remarks at the Springfield early‑education center. She described the state's new child and family tax credit, which she said pays $440 per child under 13 with no cap on the number of qualifying children, and noted the same $440 applies for qualifying dependent adults. "We now have a child and family tax credit. It's the best in the country," she said.

Nut graf: The state is promoting recently enacted tax changes and other short‑term relief designed to help families with young children, lower‑income earners and seniors. Healey used the visit to spotlight local partners providing free tax filing assistance and to warn that potential federal funding cuts could limit state capacity to replace lost dollars.

Healey said the state also increased the Massachusetts earned income tax credit from 30% to 40% of the federal credit. She said the combination of state and federal credits could, for some families with two or three children, approach $10,000 in combined benefits. The governor also highlighted measures aimed at seniors: she said the state's housing credit maximum is doubling from $1,200 to $2,700.

At the event Healey announced additional short‑term relief measures, including a $50 rebate intended to offset gas bills and a 10% electricity discount for March and May. She directed residents to mass.gov/taxcuts for details and said the administration has instructed staff to review other utility bill items for possible relief.

Local community groups and service providers at the event outlined how they will help residents claim the credits. "Our volunteer income tax assistance alone generated over a thousand returns last year, which resulted in over $2,300,000 being returned to residents here in the city of Springfield," said Mickie Harris, executive director of Springfield Partners for Community Action. Harris said the 23 community action programs across Massachusetts collectively returned more than $60,000,000 to about 30,000 taxpayers.

Dawn DeStefano, president and chief executive officer of Square 1, described her organization's role connecting families to resources and helping with paperwork. "We are here to help families complete that paperwork and make the connections to not leave any potential money behind on the table," DeStefano said.

Esther Alisaya, a parent champion at Educare Springfield, described how the child and family credit has helped her household. "This is truly making a difference in my family," she said.

Healey also warned about possible federal cuts that could affect early‑education and child services. "We're in a building in part, supported by Head Start," she said, and urged congressional action to prevent cuts to Head Start, Title I, special education supports and other federal programs. "Nobody's in a position to make up for the loss of federal funds," she said.

The governor and local partners emphasized outreach so eligible residents actually claim the benefits. Springfield Partners for Community Action and Square 1 said they will help families through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and local clinics; Harris gave Springfield Partners' address and urged residents to come by for help filing.

Ending: Healey closed by reiterating the administration's focus on affordability and urging residents to check mass.gov/taxcuts for eligibility and filing instructions. She thanked local educators, partners and officials for the site's partnership in public outreach.