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A new program will make former and current foster youth in Sacramento County eligible to receive $900 in guaranteed income every month for up to two years in an effort to provide stability for a population that runs a higher risk of homelessness, officials announced Monday.
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The funds provided have no strings attached. Income recipients do not have to participate in any additional services to receive their paychecks and may use the money for whatever they want — whether it’s a security deposit, a new laptop, school tuition or car repairs.
The program is funded by the city of Sacramento through a 2022 bond measure which requires that the city spend 40% of its local cannabis tax revenues on child and youth services. The city partnered with United Way California Capital Region, a nonprofit with a mission to end poverty, to implement the program.
Councilmember Mai Vang said that the $8 million program is one method the city is taking to prevent homelessness among a demographic that is statistically more vulnerable to being unhoused.
“A big part of that is because a lot of the resources disappear when they transition out of foster care, and making sure that we wrap our arms and resources around them is so critical to make sure that they are housed and they have resources.”
The city and nonprofit partnered in 2022 to implement a similar guaranteed income initiative which provided 80 families $500 per month for one year, a program that United Way California Capital Region President Dawnté Early described as “extremely successful.”
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“What I love most about this program is that it starts with trust, trusting young adults to know what they need, trusting them to make decisions for themselves and trusting that when we invest in their potential, they will build the futures they envision for themselves,” Early said.
Jaliyah Dramera is a soon-to-be Sacramento State graduate who benefited from a similar guaranteed income program for former foster youth attending college. The monthly check helped her pay for summer school classes, groceries and to help pay for supplies for her dog, Bandit.
For Dramera, the guaranteed income program was “life-changing” not just because of the money, but the emotional support she received from the nonprofit.
“People don’t usually have our back this way,” she said. “It’s nice to have people who believe in you wholeheartedly, who show you that you matter.”
Applications for the program are open during the month of October for people between 16-24 years-old who exited or are within 90 days of transitioning out of foster care. Additional eligibility requirements and can be found on United Way’s website.
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