Guaranteed-income program underway for Sonoma County families

Sonoma County leaders are hoping a guaranteed-income pilot program launched earlier this year is on its way to making a key difference for low-income families with young children.

The Sonoma County Pathway to Income Equity began in February, making the first of 24 monthly payments of $500 to 305 local families.

The idea behind guaranteed-income programs is to provide unconditional monthly payments to help improve economic security and promote financial mobility for individuals and families.

First 5 Sonoma County, a nonprofit organization funded by a state tobacco tax, is overseeing the $5.4 million program in partnership with other nonprofits and funding from Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Healdsburg, First 5 and the nonprofit Corazón Healdsburg.

“We know that CalFresh and Medi-Cal, as helpful as those benefits are, families still really suffer from the lack of cash,” said Angie Dillon-Shore, executive director of First 5 Sonoma County. “Particularly in a county like ours where housing is so expensive (and) child care is so expensive.”

The payments do not come with any spending requirements, allowing families to use the money however they need, Dillon-Shore said.

Sonoma County is among more than 20 jurisdictions across California and more than 100 across the nation with guaranteed-income pilot programs, according to the program’s website.

The regional program is focused on families with a gross annual household income at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level, are pregnant and/or have at least one child under 6, and who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program received 6,450 online applications for the 305 spots.

“I’ve never seen such incredible, pervasive need,” Dillon-Shore said.

Recipients were randomly selected from geographic pools including Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Healdsburg.

The program is funded primarily through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a federal economic stimulus program intended to offset fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color, which were disproportionately affected.

Sonoma County contributed $3.04 million in ARPA funds, Santa Rosa contributed just over $1 million, Petaluma contributed $636,000 and Corazón Healdsburg contributed $600,000, of which $250,000 came from the City of Healdsburg.

First 5 also contributed $200,000 in funding from the state’s Prop. 10 tobacco tax.

Dillon-Shore noted a common criticism of such programs is the unconditional nature of the payments and risk that recipients could spend the money on nonessential items or expenses.

She acknowledged that element of the program is a shift for how nonprofits typically operate.

“We tend to be quite paternalistic in telling families what they should do, what services they should get,” Dillon-Shore said. “This assumes that parents want the best for their children and they’ll take this opportunity to get a leg up. That it’s empowering for them.”

Dillon-Shore and other local leaders including Supervisor Chris Coursey and Raissa de la Rosa, Santa Rosa’s deputy director overseeing economic development, pointed to other programs, including in Stockton, where data showed the recipients were able to reach more stability.

Stockton launched its own guaranteed income program in February 2019, placing it on the national stage. The city distributed $500 monthly payments to 125 residents over two years.

A year-one report released on the city’s program found that food was the largest spending category month to month, followed by sales/merchandise, which included stores including Target and Walmart, and utilities.

The report also shared that the number of recipients with full-time jobs increased from 28% in February 2019 to 40% one year later.

“People are actually using it for food, medicine, child care,” de la Rosa said. “Things that stabilize a healthy environment for families and allow you to maybe get a car, or to fix the car.”

She added that a family’s economic stability had more long-term benefits allowing a child to attain higher academic achievement and better long-term health outcomes.

For Petaluma, the countywide program falls under the city’s homelessness prevention strategy, said Brian Cochran, assistant city manager.

“This is another way to hopefully help them and prevent that from happening,” Cochran said.

First 5 has partnered with Social Policy Research Associates, an Oakland-based research firm, to interview participating families, gather data and produce reports on the program’s progress.

Given the funds used for the program came from a one-time source, Dillon-Shore said it is likely the program will not extend beyond the initial two years.

But, she hopes the research that comes out of it will inform policy.

“They have a real opportunity, once we have findings from the evaluation, to lift up those findings and help inform their community,” Dillon-Shore said. “At a policy level, at an advocacy level, there is opportunity.”

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.