The Family First Economic Support Pilot (FFESP) offers monthly financial assistance to parents and legal guardians who meet the eligibility criteria for the guaranteed income program.
This initiative focuses on caregivers of young children and seeks to evaluate the impact on family stability: essentially, to answer the question of what happens if a low-income family has a fully guaranteed income.
Two hundred randomly selected participants are eligible to receive $725 per month for twelve months. Financial support is unconditional. The pilot includes access to complementary services such as financial counseling and support groups.
Details of this stimulus payment program
The program is administered by the United Way of the California Capital Region. The Sacramento County Department of Children, Family, and Adult Services (DCFAS) collaborates. The program uses public funds allocated for prevention.
Applicants must reside full-time in designated ZIP codes: 95815, 95821, 95823, 95825, 95828, or 95838. Residency is a key requirement for application. Only residents of these areas are accepted.
They must be the parent or legal guardian of at least one child between the ages of 0 and 5. The child must live with the applicant at least 50% of the time. Only one application per eligible household is allowed, regardless of the number of children.
Another exclusionary requirement is household income: it must be below 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL). This calculation includes all household members’ gross income. Existing government benefits are excluded.
Income limits vary depending on the number of people in the household. For a two-person household (one adult, one child), the limit is $40,880 annually. Three-person households (e.g., one adult and two children) have a limit of $51,640.
Families of four cannot exceed $62,400 annually. The limit increases to $73,160 for five people and $83,920 for six. Households of seven or eight people have limits of $94,680 and $105,440, respectively.
For households with more than eight members, an additional $10,760 is added for each additional person. These strict poverty thresholds determine financial eligibility.
If you receive other benefits, you cannot apply for these stimulus payments: participants cannot be enrolled in any other guaranteed income program, whether government or private. This exclusivity ensures that the benefits reach new recipients. Verification is part of the process.
In addition to payment, support services are offered: connection to community organizations, personalized financial counseling, and monthly webinars. Peer support groups are another available component.
Can you still apply for the FFESP program?
The FFESP application is currently closed. The final selection of the 200 beneficiaries was random among all applicants who met the strict criteria. Transparency in the process was a priority.
The results of this program are awaited to determine whether it can be considered a success, meaning that beneficiary families have improved their standard of living with a guaranteed income. If so, it is highly likely that the program will be implemented again with a new budget. To stay tuned for new rounds of beneficiary selection, you can visit the program’s website at https://ffesp.org/.
