Child tax credit

We do not have enough information or details.   How did you get the information from the IRS that you cannot claim your children?   Please provide more information.    Exactly what part of 2024 did the children live with you?   Who else provided support for the children?   Where did they live while you were incarcerated?  How old will the children be at the end of 2024?   Do they have Social Security numbers?

First:

To receive any benefit from the child tax credit, you must:

1. claim the child as a qualifying child dependent, and 

2a. have enough income that you owe tax, or

2b. have at least some income earned from working (unemployment, investments, gambling, and other forms of income don't count)

So now we need to know,

Can you claim the child as a dependent?  If this is your legal child (adopted, step or biological), the most important test is generally, did the child live with you in your home for more than half the year (6 months and one day, or more, 183 or more days).  This is not a question of court ordered or legal custody, it is a question of where the child actually physically lived.  If less than half the year, there are some other ways you might be able to claim the child, but they would only be eligible for a $500 credit, not the up to $2000 credit.

There are some other factors that get involved, but the main questions will be do you have income earned from working, and did the child live with you more than half the year.