- Location: Children must live in California.
- Birth Date: Eligible children should have been born on or after July 1, 2022.
- Income: Families with low incomes may qualify for CalKIDS financial help even if their children were born before the cutoff date.
Families in California have a new opportunity to prepare for their children’s college education with the CalKIDS program. This initiative offers up to $1,500 in financial support to families who meet specific criteria, helping to ease the burden of future tuition costs.
The program aims to make higher education more accessible for children across the state. By encouraging parents to plan for their child’s educational future early on, CalKIDS hopes to create a significant and lasting impact on education accessibility.
Research shows that children with savings accounts are more likely to consider higher education. CalKIDS provides a one-time distribution to encourage early savings for college, with many families still eligible to receive the funds this year.
Families can still benefit from this opportunity, striving to support their children’s educational future with initial savings. This program could be instrumental in encouraging long-term academic goals.
Guaranteed Income (GI) and Universal Basic Income (UBI) programs have gained attention in recent years. Following the American Rescue Plan of 2021 initiated by the Biden administration, various local governments started experimenting with GI systems.
Most GI programs involve regular payments to individuals or families with lower incomes. These payments come without job requirements, drug tests, or other conditions often found in traditional welfare systems.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) takes a different approach by providing money to everyone, regardless of income level. Alaska has been using a similar system for decades, dating back to the 1970s.
Proponents believe such programs can reduce poverty and encourage employment by not penalizing those who begin earning more. Traditional welfare often disqualifies people if they earn above a certain threshold, which can discourage work.
Opponents argue that these programs are financially unsustainable at a larger scale. They worry about people becoming dependent on government support.
Due to some of these concerns, various Republican-led states, including Texas and Iowa, have pushed back against GI and major spending proposals associated with it.
Categories Covered in the Application
- Newborns: Applications can be filed for children who are newly born.
- Young Students: Parents of first-grade students or those in lower grades can also apply.
- Older Students: Information about older students is also required for the verification process.
To create a claim account, parents need to verify eligibility first. After that, they can fill out an online form. If they have a newborn, they should provide the county of birth, birthdate, and either the birth certificate or the 13-digit Local Registration Number.
For current students, parents must enter the county of school attendance, birthdate, and 10-digit Statewide Student Identifier. A video tutorial is available for additional help.
Distribution amounts will depend on the student’s birth date and financial status of their family. Eligible students born on or after July 1, 2022 will receive a minimum of $175. Low-income students, no matter when they were born, may get up to $1,500.
Funds can be used at any two-year or four-year college, whether it’s private, public, in the country, or overseas. Vocational schools and apprenticeship programs are also eligible for these payments.
Some Americans are eligible to receive $800 a month for two years with no conditions attached. Another group, meeting specific criteria, can receive $500 per month for 18 months.
More details can be found on the CalKIDS website, where parents can determine their eligibility by answering a series of questions. The questions help verify the child’s residence in California and their school enrollment status.