$725 Monthly Payments Hit Bank Accounts — Here’s Who’s Getting Them

You might ve seen headlines about a stimulus payment going out in California and wondered Wait is this a new statewide check Not exactly This isn t a federal venture or something everyone in California is getting It s a local pilot project in Sacramento County called the Family First Economic Patronage Pilot FFESP The goal is pretty straightforward to give monthly financial help to families with young kids who are struggling to make ends meet If that s you or someone you know here s everything you need to understand about how it works Who s In fact Getting This Money This scheme is super targeted so only specific families in certain areas qualify Here s what you d need to meet to be eligible You live in Sacramento County specifically in one of these zip codes or Your income is low that means your total household income is at or below of the federal poverty level For a family of four that s around or less per year You ve got young kids at home at least one child under age five must live with you You re not already getting money from another guaranteed income campaign Priority is given to families who identify as Black African American American Indian or Native American That s because the initiative aims to advocacy communities who ve historically had less access to guidance and aid When Are the Payments Coming The first payments were sent out starting May and they ll continue every month for an entire year So if you were selected you ll get a month through May How you get the money depends on what you provided during the application If you gave your bank info you ll get the money through direct deposit If not they ll send you a paper check in the mail Can You Still Apply Unfortunately the application period already ended back on October After that the county used a lottery system to select the families who would get the payments If you missed it this time don t worry there s a growing trend across California and the country honestly to test out guaranteed income programs like this one So it s workable there could be future opportunities like this in other counties or even again in Sacramento Who s Running the Effort The operation is run by Sacramento County s Department of Child Family and Adult Services It officially started in December and will wrap up around November though the actual payments for majority families kicked off in May This a month might not seem like a life-changing amount to several people but for families raising small kids on tight budgets it can make a big difference covering rent groceries diapers or just helping things feel a little more stable If you didn t qualify this time or didn t apply it s still worth paying attention These kinds of pilot programs are popping up more and more and your area could be next