The Family First Economic Support Project (FFESP) is primarily funded through the State Block Grant allocated by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to the Sacramento County Department of Child, Family and Adult Services (DCFAS), supplemented by additional private funding sources. This financial collaboration reflects the state’s commitment to strengthening families through prevention and early intervention strategies aimed at reducing child welfare involvement and promoting long-term family stability.
The State Block Grant was introduced as part of California’s broader prevention framework to help counties implement initiatives that keep families together and reduce the need for foster care interventions. CDSS outlined key objectives for this funding: to lower the number of abuse and neglect cases, decrease foster care entries, and enhance economic and concrete resources for families. A significant focus of this effort is to address the overrepresentation of Black and American Indian/Alaska Native families in the child welfare system. These goals are aligned with the vision described in CDSS’s Five-Year State Prevention Plan Executive Summary, which provides a roadmap for building equitable systems of family support across California.
To qualify for State Block Grant funding, each participating county was required to opt in and develop a Comprehensive Prevention Plan (CPP) — a detailed blueprint outlining local strategies for prevention and family strengthening. Sacramento County’s CPP was officially approved by CDSS in April 2023, marking a major milestone in its efforts to expand family-centered initiatives. As part of this plan, the county designated a portion of its funding to create and implement the Guaranteed Income Pilot, incorporating a research and evaluation component to measure the pilot’s effects on families’ economic and social outcomes.
Following the approval process, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors formally authorized the pilot on March 12, 2024, paving the way for its launch and implementation. The project represents a collaborative and evidence-driven approach to improving child and family well-being, with measurable outcomes that will inform future statewide policies aimed at reducing disparities and promoting economic stability for vulnerable communities.