Sacramento has approved a plan to give low-income Black and Native American families $725 a month, no strings attached

• Sacramento County approved a plan to give low-income families $725 a month.
• The money is set to go to qualifying Black and Native American families.

Sacramento County is joining a growing list of places around the United States offering no-strings-attached payments to its lowest-income residents.

The Sacramento Board of Supervisors approved the basic-income pilot program last week. It's set to offer $725 a month to low-income Black and Native American families. The county is funding the program through a partnership with United Way.

Sacramento County has partnered with United Way for other basic-income programs in the past. About 100 families received $300 monthly from the county in its first program, which began in June 2021 and lasted through May 2023.

United Way is still tracking the results of that program, but an initial report found that three out of four participants said they were more confident they could reach their financial goals after joining the program.

Michelle Callejas, the director of child, family, and adult services for the county, spoke at the county board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday. She said the guaranteed-income program was just one piece of a six-step plan to eliminate child poverty.

Callejas said that data collected by the county showed that Black children were four times more likely to be removed from their parents by the state than white children in the county. Native Americans, she said, were two times as likely to be removed.

"Our ultimate goal is to promote self-sufficiency, family stability, and then reduce involvement with the juvenile justice system," Callejas said.

Many other counties, cities, and states around the country are also experimenting with basic-income projects to address rising poverty and housing insecurity. Participants in these programs largely say they spend most of the money they receive on basic needs such as food and paying rent.

In Baltimore, the Baltimore Young Families Success Fund gives young parents $1,000 a month. The director of policy of the CASH Campaign of Maryland, Tonaeya Moore, previously told Business Insider that surveys suggested participants mostly spent their money on the same general necessities, such as housing and food.

In Austin, officials gave $1,000 a month to low-income families from May 2022 to August 2023 to help boost housing rates. Researchers found that, on average, program participants said they spent more than half of the cash they received on housing.

Sacramento County safety officials surveyed community members to help form its strategy for the program, and the main areas where people expressed need were basics such as food, diapers, transportation, housing, affordable childcare, and accessibility services, Callejas said.

The basic-income pilot is set to start sending out payments in July 2024 and distribute the payments for 12 months.