It is a guaranteed income pilot for parents/legal guardians caring for Black/African American and/or American Indian/Alaska Native children 0-5 years of age, in certain zip codes of Sacramento County, who are under 200% of the federal poverty level. 200 randomly selected participants will receive $725.00 per month for 12 months.
FFESP will assess how the provision of guaranteed income to the eligible population affects families over time. Families will also have access to supportive services, such as connection to community-based organisations in their communities, access to one-on-one financial coaching, and monthly financial webinars and peer support groups.
The pilot will be administered by a trusted local nonprofit in collaboration with Sacramento County Department of Child, Family and Adult Services (DCFAS).
Where did the money come from?
The FFESP is funded primarily through State Block Grant funding provided by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to DCFAS and some private funding. The State Block Grant funding was provided to counties to support prevention and early intervention, with a goal of keeping families together. CDSS specifically identified goals of reducing incidences of abuse and neglect, decreasing entries into foster care, and improving economic and other concrete resources for families, with the intention of prioritizing services that focus on reducing disproportionate entries of Black and American Indian/Alaska Native families into the foster care system. For more details, CDSS’s Five-Year state prevention plan executive summary can be accessed by clicking here.
In order to receive the funding, each county had to opt-in and create a Comprehensive Prevention Plan (CPP). Sacramento County’s CPP was approved by CDSS in April 2023, and a portion of the funding was designated to create and implement a guaranteed income pilot that includes an evaluation component (research on how the pilot impacts families). The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved this pilot on March 12, 2024. More information on Sacramento County’s CPP can be found here.
Why is this pilot being offered to the selected population?
The FFESP seeks to offer an additional source of reliable income to assist eligible households in our focus zip codes with a goal of improving child and family well-being and decreasing the potential of contact with or entry into the foster care system.
Sacramento County data shows that Black/African American and American Indian/Alaska Native children 0-5 years of age experience higher rates of contact with the child welfare system as compared to other ethnicities due to historic and systemic practices (e.g., Black/African American children 0-5 were 4.3 times as likely to have a CPS allegation, 4.6 times as likely to have a CPS investigation and 4.5 times as likely to be removed from their family than White children 0-5; and American Indian/Alaska Native children 0-5 were 2.2 times as likely to have a CPS allegation, 2.9 times as likely to have a CPS investigation and 1.8 times as likely to be removed from their family than White children 0-5.)