Updated 3:54 p.m.
Whether the Sacramento region receives millions from the state’s guaranteed income pilot program might depend on an appeal response expected within the next week.
The United Way California Capital Region sent an appeal earlier this month, asking the state to reconsider its decision to not approve any grants helping Sacramento-area residents. More than 20 community leaders, government agencies and partner non-profits wrote letters supporting the appeal, United Way said in a statement.
In November, California announced it would give $25 million to seven organizations across the state to help give about 2,000 people between $600 and $1,200 per month. Four of the organizations are based in Southern California, while three are in Northern California. The participants, primarily pregnant people and foster youth aging out of the system, will receive the unconditional and unrestricted money for 12 to 18 months.
United Way applied for $5 million from the state, which the nonprofit, the city of Sacramento and Sacramento County supervisors promised to collectively match. The nonprofit planned to expand its existing guaranteed income program with the $10 million, United Way said. But the state denied its grant application.
The nonprofit hopes to get the full $5 million it applied for through the appeal said Dawnté Early, president and CEO of United Way.
“With rising housing, food, gas and electricity costs, too many residents of the state’s capital are struggling to make ends meet,” Early said in a statement. “Because of this, the City of Sacramento and Sacramento County Supervisors [Phil] Serna and [Patrick] Kennedy, as well as UWCCR have committed funding to expand United Way California Capital Region’s Direct Investment Program in the Sacramento area even if our appeal is rejected.”
California lawmakers approved the nation’s first state-funded guaranteed income program in July 2021. They green-lit $35 million for the pilot, which would distribute funding to local organizations that run programs giving unconditional cash to residents. Programs are designed to provide safety nets and help people afford basic needs.
In its state application, United Way proposed distributing the funds to more than 500 people in Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties. About 4,000 pregnant people and transitional foster youth in the region would have been eligible for $600 monthly payments for 18 months, according to the statement.
Elected officials and organizations that wrote letters supporting the appeal include Child Action Inc., Community Housing Opportunities Corporation, Yolo County Superintendent of Schools Garth Lewis and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
“The lack of awards in the Sacramento region is both troubling and disheartening,” Steinberg wrote in a letter of support. “We know basic income programs have a profound impact on those they serve. To see the capital region left out will prevent hundreds of deserving pregnant mothers and foster youth from benefiting from these life-changing investments.”
A study on Stockton’s guaranteed income program — which was the first of its kind when it began in 2019 — found unconditional cash improved participants’ health and helped them find new job opportunities.
United Way California Capital Region launched its Direct Investment Program (DIP) in June 2021. The program gives 100 Sacramento County families $300 per month for two years. United Way funded the initial program with a donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, Early said in a previous interview.
Assembly member Kevin McCarty also sent a support letter.
“United Way California Capital Region has represented its area well and has successfully implemented its own guaranteed income program, helping many families in need including former foster youth and those who are pregnant,” McCarty wrote. “As part of the state legislature, we worked to allocate money for the California Department of Social Services’ Guaranteed Income Pilot Program to be used statewide. I look forward to when this important program will serve families in the Capital Region.”
United Way sent the appeal for state funding on Dec. 6 and publicly announced its effort on Dec. 19, said spokesperson Kristin Thébaud. The state has 20 business days to respond to the appeal, according to a Department of Social Services document. That timeline means a response could be expected by Jan. 5.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the date that United Way publicly announced its appeal for state funding. It has since been updated.
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