Stimulus update: Direct payments worth $500 for more than 300 families to be sent in three days

Asher Notheis

April 16, 10:00 AM April 16, 10:01 AM

In three days, a guaranteed income payment will be sent to 305 families in Sonoma County, California.

The Pathway to Income Equity pilot program selected 305 out of 6,450 applicants. To be eligible, applicants had to have at least one child under age 6, be affected in some way by the coronavirus pandemic, and have a household income of no more than 185% above the federal poverty level, according to the Sonoma County Administrator's Office.

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"These payments will help families with young children who are often struggling under the double burden of the high costs of housing and child care — typically the two highest household expenses," said Chris Coursey, the chairman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

"The information we gain from this pilot program will help shape future efforts to improve the health and welfare of our community," he added.

Officials said the payments are delivered on the third Wednesday of each month, which for this month will be April 19. The final payment for this program will be issued in December 2024.

Sonoma County officials will study what effect this additional monthly income has on reducing poverty and promoting economic mobility for families with young children, according to the Sonoma County Administrator's Office.

"Most of our selected recipients are already working — many working more than one job or more than 40 hours a week just to survive," said Angie Dillon-Shore, the director of the nonprofit group First 5 Sonoma County.

"This extra income will allow them to spend more time with their families, find a better job, or improve their financial well-being, resulting in better outcomes for their kids," she said.

The program accepted applications for the payments last year, and 6,450 applications were submitted online. Officials said that of all the applications, 2,383 met the eligibility requirements. The application period was from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31.