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WASHINGTON – Gilbert resident Lori Ament said she and her husband both work full time to support themselves and their 5-year-old son and are getting by. But not much more.

“We can barely afford child care which my son needed, and some regular doctors’ appointments, which meant medical care copays,” Ament said. “And I didn’t have the time or money to address my own mental health needs, and I have to work full time to even make that work.”

But help started Thursday in the form of monthly payments the IRS will begin sending to most American families with children, an advance on their 2021 tax returns that could mean up to $300 a month per child.

“Putting money in the hands of families month to month is helping them then,” Ament said. “You can’t just sit and twiddle your thumbs until February.”

The payments are part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that was signed into law in March. That bill increased the previous per-child tax credit, raised the eligibility age from 16 to 17, expanded the payment to cover families that had been excluded because they made too little, and made sure those families got the full benefit – and it’s making the payments in advance, instead of after taxes are filed.

The payments will reach an estimated 39 million households, “covering almost 90% of children in the United States,” the White House said in a June release. In Arizona, an estimated 1.5 million children are expected to benefit from the plan – 692,000 of whom were not previously covered.

“If you look at changes in tax policy in Arizona and the country, this is a really strong policy response to benefit lower-income families and children,” said Andrew Sugrue, assistant director of policy and advocacy for The Arizona Center for Economic Progress.

He said the payments are expected to cut child poverty in half nationally and by about 45% in Arizona, lifting as many 238,000 children in the state above or near the poverty line.

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Grace Oldham/Cronkite Borderlands Project

Three wooden crosses mark the location where the remains of a family were found near Arivaca in April. They were among a record-setting 127 migrant remains recovered in the Arizona desert in the first six months of this year.

WASHINGTON – The number of migrant deaths recorded in the Arizona desert so far this year is on pace to break the record set just last year, as migrants attempt the crossing in the face of a record-breaking heatwave.

Humane Borders and the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office reported finding the remains of 127 migrants in the first half of 2021. That was ahead of the 96 deaths recorded at the same point in 2020, which set a record of 226 deaths for the year.

The deaths come as migrant apprehensions at the Southwest border have surged to their highest level in years, with almost 930,000 Southwest border encounters through the first eight months of fiscal 2021, more than twice the number for all of the year before.

They also come as the West is in the grip of a historic drought and a blistering heatwave. In June, Phoenix saw high temperatures above 115 degrees for a record-setting six days in a row, while Tucson set daily record highs in that same six-day period.

“It’s so hot that even having water isn’t necessarily going to save somebody’s life,” said Doug Roupp, board chair for Humane Borders. “Some of the people who were found dead had water on them – that’s a tough pill to swallow.”

While groups such as Humane Borders, Tucson Samaritans and No More Deaths work to provide water for migrants crossing the desert, they are also encouraging people not to cross the border now, when conditions are so harsh.

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Natalie Griffin/News21

WASHINGTON – Federal officials have awarded $45.3 million in COVID-19 relief funds to 68 Arizona concert venues, a vast improvement over the single grant awarded a month ago but still far short of the need, advocates say.

The Arizona funding was part of the $3.2 billion awarded as of Tuesday by the Small Business Administration under the $16 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.

The disastrous June rollout of the program – more than six months after funding was approved – led to a staff overhaul at SBA. While some venue owners and operators in Arizona said this week they were finally feeling some relief, others said they are still “anxiously waiting” months after applying for assistance.

Jenny Thomas, director of communications for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, said she is “extremely appreciative of this essential support that has the potential to save the live performing arts industry.” But the grants need to be processed much faster, she said.

“According to the SBA’s latest report, only 28% of applications have resulted in an award, and only about 18% of awards, or just over $2 billion, have been disbursed, more than six months after the law was enacted,” Thomas said.

For organizations like Arizona Arts Live in Tucson, every day of delay hurts.

“We’re hoping the SVOG money comes through soon,” said Chad Herzog, executive director of the group that used to be known as UA Presents. While they wait for word on funding, he said, all their efforts to maintain business during the pandemic have come at “a tremendous loss.”

Of the total that had been awarded as of Tuesday, according to the most recent report from the SBA, just $2 billion has actually reached businesses. The remaining $1.2 billion that had been awarded was still pending disbursement.

It is not clear how many Arizona businesses are still waiting or have been denied: The SBA does not release those numbers by state. But nationally, the agency said it has received 14,884 applications and has awarded grants to 4,222 of the businesses, an approval rate of 28%. Just 364 have had their applications declined so far.