Most families with children across Ray and Clay counties began receiving money last week they might not have expected from Washington. In the usual display of disunity, Democrats alone in March passed the American Rescue Plan with a vital provision for many families – the expanded Child Tax Credit. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law. The expanded credit provides families up to $300 per child in the 6- to 17-yearold age range. The money is being deposited directly into accounts. Families need do nothing to get the allowance. “I’ll bet you 98% of these parents out here ... don’t know they’re going to get checks on the 15th (of July),” U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II said during a district visit last week. “They won’t know why they got it or how, and if it’s discontinued in six months, they probably still won’t know.” The money is meant to serve families by offseting costs associated with bringing up their school-age children. Those costs include groceries, childcare, school…