The Hawai'i Kai resident received a child tax credit for $400 just for being the father of Shea, his 1›-year-old son. The IRS sent Len a letter weeks ago telling him that money was coming, but holding the actual check made the promise real.

"This was a good surprise. It was helpful," Len said.

The money was deposited in his bank account to pay bills, and it was good timing: the family's credit card bill arrived last week.

Len plans to use the money to pay for Shea's day care expenses for a month, which happen to total $400.

About $14 billion in child tax credit checks are being mailed to 25 million taxpayers nationwide, with 108,000 recipients in Hawai'i, according to the IRS. The first two batches of checks were sent out on July 25 and Friday, and the last gets mailed this Friday.

Congress passed the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 earlier this year, which raised the child tax credit to $1,000 from $600 per qualifying child.

To give a quick jolt to the economy, the government chose to advance some of the money to parents instead of waiting until they file taxes next year.

"It's more than a drop in the bucket; it will boost the economy in the second half," said Gus Faucher, senior economist at Economy.com.

Faucher expects $9 billion of the $14 billion to be spent while the rest would be saved, invested or used to pay down debt, based on consumer behavior when similar checks were mailed out in 2001.

According to a June Gallup poll, about 45 percent of Americans who are expecting child tax credit checks plan to use the money to pay bills. Nearly a third will save or invest the money, 22 percent will spend it and 1 percent will donate it to charity.

James Oleole III is waiting for his check, but he already knows what to do with it. He plans to spend the money on "bills, school supplies — basic stuff like crayons, pencils and paper."

The Makiki resident's nearly 5-year-old daughter is heading for kindergarten in two weeks. Oleole also has a newborn son, but the baby doesn't qualify for the advance, since he wasn't a dependent when the family filed taxes in 2002. But the Oleoles can claim the child tax credit for their newborn next April 15.

Wendy Nagano, who lives in Kane'ohe, has long-term plans for her slice of the child tax credits once the check arrives in the mail. She wants to start an investment account for her children — a 3-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter.

"I'm looking into a couple of mutual funds," said Nagano, who is leaning towards a small-cap stock fund that is less likely lose money in bear markets.

However the tax credit money is spent, either the economy or the parents benefit, said David Nako, an investment representative at Edward Jones.

"Those who are planning on college savings accounts for their children, I think a good number of them will invest that money," he said. "If they're barely making ends meet, the money probably gets spent, which is good for the economy."