Nebraska Community Action Network

Providing tax services to low-income families in a large, rural state like Nebraska comes with unique challenges.  For the past nine years, the Nebraska Community Action Network has been overcoming these challenges as part of the statewide effort to provide free income tax assistance to low-income Nebraskans. 

With nine agencies statewide, Community Action Partnerships will sponsor 32 tax sites in the 2011 tax season.  In addition to free tax preparation, each agency offers additional services such as asset building, weatherization, health clinics, immunizations, Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and financial education, Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics and Head Start centers. 

Nebraska Community Action Network Volunteers hard at work.

With clients averaging less than $20,000 in income, Community Action Network serves some of the neediest families in Nebraska.  Julie Farwell, Statewide EITC Coordinator for Nebraska Community Action Network, said “the disparity between the haves and have-nots is huge and it is difficult to get the message out that there are people in poverty in Nebraska through no fault of their own.”  According to Farwell, “the gap is widening between these groups, and educating the public on the causes of poverty is growing more difficult.”

And with such a rural population, Community Action Network has found it necessary to use a variety of methods to reach its clients.  Farwell said “utilizing partnerships with the Department of Health and Human Services, IRS SPEC, the Nebraska Department of Revenue, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Omaha Branch) and Taxpayer Advocacy Service is a key part of communicating their services.” Community Action Networks also uses social networking sites like Facebook, a toll free hotline, the Nebraska Radio Network, and newspaper articles and advertisements to reach clients. 

Nebraska Community Action Network has also been working on new programs to offer more services to low-income families in Nebraska.  Last year, Advent Prepaid Debit cards were offered to clients for the first time.  The program was a success, and Farwell expects the program to grow this year.  “This year we are introducing the cards to volunteers earlier so they are more familiar with them.  Advent has also made some changes to their system, making the cards more user-friendly.”

Farwell said there will also be another new program this year to encourage their clients to save.  “We recently applied for and were awarded an Assets for Independence (AFI) grant to provide IDAs for our clients.  One of the biggest issues we try to push with our clients is asset building and savings.  This is a good start to helping our clients build assets and their financial well-being.”

Like others in our field, the Nebraska Community Action Network still faces its share of challenges, despite these successes.  Farwell counts transportation and child care as the biggest barriers for their program.  Clients are often unable to come to tax sites during regular business hours, and many of the sites are unable to stay open late.  Even in urban areas, many public transportation routes are being closed, making it difficult for both clients and volunteers to get to tax sites.  Clients often have to drive more than 30 miles each way to have their taxes prepared.

Farwell eyes the future with cautious optimism and sees positive changes that can be made in the near future.  She serves as a strong advocate for the EITC, VITA funding, and other low-income issues in Nebraska and also through NCTC’s federal advocacy initiatives.  Currently, she is working on changing the asset limit test for Nebraska’s public benefits.  Farwell said she has met with several other organizations who are also interested in changing this provision, and hopes that it will be changed within the next year.