WEST SENECA, N.Y. — Many families across New York are seeing a financial boost this time of year.

One-time child tax credits up to $330 per kid started being mailed earlier this month.

It makes a difference for parents like Brittany Barkley, who loves her three daughters, but not all the costs that come with them.

“They are definitely very expensive to maintain,” she said. 

They get creative to cut costs here and there.

“We have family members who we can kind of get like hand-me-downs from,” Barkley said.

But between toys, clothes and everyday essentials like food, which can cost them $800 per month, it adds up quickly for a one-income household.

“We have had to utilize the food pantry because, you know, times have been tough. Thankfully, we've had that resource," Barkley said. "[My fiancé] is working extra hours just to bring in extra money.” 

That’s why it was good news when they heard one-time child tax credits were being sent to low- and moderate-income families.

“We were already like, 'OK, right now we’ve got to get the school clothes. Where's that money going to come from,'" Barkley recalled. "When we heard that this was coming up, we're like, 'Oh, thank goodness.' Because yeah, we are stressed.”

New York is sending out about $350 million in these payments to qualifying families.

No application is required. It’s based off 2023 state tax returns. 

“$82.50 is the first one that we've gotten,” said Barkley.

That's only for one kid, so Barkley expects another payment for her two other kids.

It's a big help, especially with one child starting pre-K and another starting high school.

“Usually around this time, stores will run the discounts on like the normal school supplies, like the papers and the notebooks and things like that. But it's the other stuff, like the paper towels and [the tissues] and things like that that are super expensive,” Barkley added. 

While this relief isn’t huge, it does have a ripple effect.

“Just taking that little bit of stress off of us," she said. "Thank you for thinking of the taxpayers [and] the middle-class families who really need needed this.”

Barkley would like to see this program continue in subsequent years.

The mid-year boost, even if small, works with back-to-school, as opposed to waiting for tax season to afford things they need.