In approximately 4 days, the latest monthly payment in California’s Sonoma County will be arriving at the doorstep of 305 families. The monthly stimulus check will be worth $500. The name of the program is the Pathway to Income Equity.
The Special California Stimulus Check Program
The program had about 6450 applications, of which only 305 qualified. The eligibility conditions include applying households to include, at minimum, one child younger than 6 years. The household must also have suffered some kind of effect due to the covid pandemic. The household’s income must also not be over 185% above the poverty level as per the federal government. These conditions were provided by the Administrator’s Office of Sonoma County.
First 5 Sonoma County’s executive, Angie Dillon-Shore praised the monthly stimulus check and pinned it as essential for fighting poverty of families while pre-empting criticisms regarding the program incentivizing laziness. First 5 Sonoma County is a public agency that is independent of the government and focuses on development during early childhood.
She explained that the sheer application amount received speaks volumes regarding how many are struggling in the community. Moreover, she called the critical theory of monthly cash stimulus checks disincentivizing work a myth. She explained that the majority of the recipients selected for the monthly stimulus check program are working already, with several working multiple jobs or over 40 hours weekly, only to get enough to survive.
As such, she hopes that the extra cash will let these people give more time to their families, as well as get employed in better places or focus on making their financial situation better. This would, subsequently, make their families a better place for the kids in the households.
