Updated Monday, Nov. 23, 2020
Families or caregivers with school-aged children who missed an Oct. 15 deadline for new state COVID-19 grants will have another chance to apply. A judge ordered applications for the $335 Extra Credit grants to be reopened after legal aid groups filed suit.
About 1 million families are expected to receive the grants to help cover costs of remote learning and child care during the pandemic. The state legislature in September approved spending about $440 million in federal CARES Act funds on the program.
People who paid state taxes last year are getting the grants automatically. But legal aid groups said in their suit that as many as 200,000 more families or caregivers would miss out because they didn't file tax returns.
Lawyer Adam Doerr of Charlotte law firm Robinson Bradshaw worked on the suit. He said there's money available to help low-income residents who may not have heard about the grants in time to apply by the Oct. 15 deadline.
"Higher income folks have already gotten checks for $335," Doerr said. "But when it comes to a family needing to buy a laptop for their kids to attend remote school, or pay an internet bill, these are the folks who really need it."
As of Monday morning, more than 1,400 people had applied for the grants since applications reopened on Friday.
Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy has set up an online application at 335forNC.com. The new deadline is Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.
