Officials in Sacramento formally announced the approval of an income program dedicated to helping families with the cost of living.
Known as the Family First Sacramento pilot program, the initiative was unanimously approved on Tuesday by the County Board of Supervisors.
With the new plan, approximately 200 families earning low-incomes will be given $725 a month for a year. Funded through the state government and through a partnership with the United Way California Capital Region, the income program will specifically help Black and Native American families with children up to the ages of five.
According to the county director for child, family and adult services, Michelle Callejas, the program will address disparities that exist within the system.
“If it changes and really reduces disparities, that’s awesome,” she said per CBS. “Then, we need to reassess and see ‘Where do we target and focus our resources?’”
Disparities have long existed in California when it comes to income earnings, particularly for Black Americans.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, there was substantial progress in a forty year span from 1950 to 1990. While in 1950, 83% of Black Californians earned “less than twice the poverty level,” that rate decreased to 41% in 1990-averaging to a 10% decrease each decade.
In recent years, however, progress has slowed down immensely with the rate decreasing only five percent in a thirty year span; whereas it was recorded as 41% in 1990, in 2020, the rate only fell down to 36%.
Per the PPIC, homeownership is a key factor in measuring economic progress. Currently, only 36% of Black Californians own their own home in the state.
Redlining has been identified as a key factor contributing to this lower rate, preventing economic growth. By denying home loans in certain neighborhoods, racism has helped drive real estate, making it easier to discriminate against BIPOC mortgage applicants.
Through the latest program, Sacramento officials also hope to address the rates of unhoused Black Californians and disparities in the cost of living.
Per the University of Southern California, approximately 26% of unhoused individuals in the state are Black. For comparison, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Black adults make up just seven percent of California’s population.
In Sacramento, the rate of Black unhoused Californians is reportedly higher.
“Ending homelessness among Black Californians will require a dramatic increase in affordable housing, economic support to help them afford this housing, and dedicated efforts to navigate a challenging housing market and to enforce anti-discrimination laws,” said lead author Kara Young Ponder. “To solve homelessness, we must recognize and reduce the many factors that impede the search for housing.”
