Education

Outreach and Education
Whether through the use of educational videos, radio public service
announcements, distribution of written materials such as brochures and flyers,
or traditional workshop formats, NC-TAC Partners offer individuals information
regarding their financial well-being, rights, responsibilities, and options as
taxpayers, and their role in impacting the decisions of financial institutions.
Our community education is designed to evoke change in individual financial
decisions, so that real change can occur in promoting their collective
community wealth.

TAC partners utilize their VITA and LITC sites as vehicles to educate the public
about tax issues. Because of the outreach efforts in promoting VITA, thousands
of residents are served through these two programs annually in Greater
Durham.

Workforce Development/Training
Training Workfirst Employees as Tax Preparers

The TAC utilizes participants from the Department of Social
Services Work First Program to prepare taxes at some of its
VITA sites. These workers are “hired” and paid comparable
wages, in addition to receiving invaluable training and work
experience. In addition to the clear benefit to the VITA staff, the
clients served at VITA sites benefit because staff are actually
members of the target population, and therefore have intimate
knowledge of that population. This allows staff to personally
connect in a more meaningful way to the clients being served.

Work-First preparers are put through a rigorous formal intake
process, an interactive interview process, and a full training and
testing period which ends with their certification by the IRS to
prepare taxes on multiple levels of diffidulty. They receive
ongoing training in tax preparation throughout their employment
and continue testing to advance through the certification levels
offered. Unique to this program, Work-First preparers are also
offerec weekly classes to enrich their personal development,
both in the workplace and regarding their personal finances.

ESL Outreach and Education
Funded by an IRS grant to conduct ESL Outreach and Education
through its LITC program, TAC Partner, CRA-NC is currently
developing a 10-minute video presentation to assist in educating
the ESL population of their rights, responsibilities and options as
it relates to income tax issues. The video, produced in Spanish
and incorporating English subtitles will be made available to
LITCs in other service locations to further their education and
outreach goals.

Qualified volunteers from the NC-TAC regularly participate in
information fairs hosted by other agencies by setting up
informational booths and providing brochures, flyers and other
available materials describing tax issues, services and LITC
offerings. They are available to answer questions and direct
inquiries to appropriate next steps. If power is available, the
educational video will also be continuously played at these fairs.

TAC representatives also conduct facilitated
training/informational sessions both at predominantly ESL
populated worksites and at LITC Sites. These are designed to
give taxpayers a general overview of their rights and
responsibilities, and then to assist those who need additional tax
assistance, such as completing prior year returns, applying for
ITINs, and assisting clients in negotiating the IRS system when
they owe Federal taxes.