New child tax credits offer lifeline for some Maine families The monthly payments will go to some 230,000 Maine families, part of an expanded child tax credit approved by Congress under the American Rescue Plan Act. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer VASSALBORO — For Mainers like Susan Kiralis, a new monthly child tax credit payment from the federal government starting in July is going to be a big help in getting her family fully back on its feet in a post-COVID-19 economy. Kiralis, 30, a single mother with two children ages 5 and 13, saw her family’s finances take a hit when the pandemic forced school shutdowns and suspended the craft fairs and festivals where she sold handmade jewelry. She had full-time child care to attend to and the jewelry sales dried up.