A California guaranteed income program opened up for applications Monday, but residents will only qualify if they meet certain racial requirements.
The program went live in Sacramento County and promises to offer a $725 check monthly to select families.
The guaranteed income was approved as part of the Family First Economic Support Pilot and aims to help low-income families in the area.
The program was also approved by the country in hopes of lowering instances of child abuse and keeping children out of the state foster system.
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Currently, there is a disproportionate number of Black children in foster care. In Sacramento, Black children were 4.6 times as likely to have a Child Protective Services report investigated and 4.5 times more likely to be removed from their families, according to Sacramento County.
American Indian and Native Alaskan children faced similar odds, with those children being 2.9 times as likely to have a CPS allegation.
Due to these statistics, the city approved the $725 guaranteed income for parents of Black or American Indian/Alaska Native children only. Currently, the money is only available to parents or legal guardians of children aged 0 to 5.
There are also income requirements, with applicants needing to make less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line.
So far, the guaranteed income program is limited to those living in these zip codes: 95815, 95821, 95823, 95828, 95825, or 95838.
The funding was taken from the California Department of Social Services, and residents are urged to apply before October 13 at 11:59 p.m.
Applications are being accepted online at fesp.org. If approved, families will have the no-strings-attached payments allotted monthly to use as they wish.
The county said 200 people will be randomly selected from the list of applicants who meet all program requirements.
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, said the program in Sacramento is similar to how many other cities have experimented with guaranteed income pilots, despite the racial requirement.
“When programs like this are announced, some will wrongfully assume this means funding for anyone under a certain economic threshold,” Beene told Newsweek.
“The reality is this program is very selective, targeting those who are under 200 percent of the federal poverty level, and will only be distributed to 200 randomly selected individuals who apply. However, if it’s as successful as similar programs, it’s possible the program could expand to assist more families.”
The program hasn’t been without its critics, though.
An account on X (formerly Twitter) called @LibsofTikTok shared information about the pilot program, and many expressed issues with the racial requirements and referred to the selection criteria as discrimination.
“That is overtly racist and sounds illegal,” one X user wrote.
Another expressed: “California’s new motto: Equality for all… except if you’re white, then you’re just funding it!”
Newsweek reached out to the Family First Economic Support Pilot for comment via email.
Many other states and counties have passed similar programs. However, few offer the specific rules around the race of applicants or their children.
Guaranteed income programs have been linked to higher rates of employment, improved financial stability and better housing and food security across several studies on recipients and their long-term well-being.
Minnesota’s Guaranteed Income Pilot for Artists has expanded by five years and provides $500 monthly payments for rural artists.
“Our program is emerging as a national model, demonstrating how guaranteed income can transform artists’ lives, build community resilience, and strengthen local economies,” Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts executive director, previously said in a statement.
