California Leads the US in Creating Trust Funds for Kids Who Lost Parents to COVID-19

California is extending financial help to the children by becoming the first state in the U.S. to create trust funds for kids who lost parents to COVID-19.

Over $100 million from the state's surplus budget will be set up for the kids of low-income families. According to KQED, the program "Hope, Opportunity, Perseverance, and Empowerment for Children Trust Account Fund," also known as "baby bonds," will be intended to accumulate and grow as investments.

The children may be able to access the trust fund when they turn 18 years old. They can use the money for school, housing, and essential expenses.

Around 16,000 kids are expected to benefit from the trust fund, which could be tied to the state's Medi-Cal program. The eligibility details have yet to be clarified, but the children could receive between $4,000 to $8,000 in assistance, depending on their ages. The state treasurer will be tasked with managing their money.

Gaining some security

Mom Laura Guerra, who was widowed in 2020 after her husband, Rigo Guerra, died of COVID-19, said the trust fund gives her child some security. Laura is now a single parent raising a 2-year-old girl, and she has constant fears about her daughter's future.

Laura said she doesn't want her daughter to grow up as a "victim of this virus forever." She has advocated for the trust fund and the group COVID Survivors for Change, per WFMZ.

COVID Survivors for Change director Emily Walton believes that the trust fund for kids who lost parents to COIVD-19 will go a long way to help them succeed as they embark on adulthood. The money set aside for the children can provide for their education or job prospects in places they know they can do well.

Siblings Martin Jr., Angel and Miranda Basulto were lost after both their parents died of COVID-19. Martin, a 44-year-old truck driver, was exposed to COVID in the first wave and infected his wife, Rosa, a 46-year-old hotel worker.

Now it's Martin Jr., 27, who heads the family and has been taking care of his youngest sister, Miranda, 17. Miranda said she was angry about what happened to her parents and didn't care much for school. Now, she knows they would want nothing more for her than to live up to her full potential. She can prepare for further school after high school with the trust fund.

Baby bonds were launched in the 1930s

In the 1930s, the U.S. government launched the first baby bonds for parents to invest in their children's future. In the modern period, parents no longer purchase these bonds as they have become benefits for low-income families.

According to Daily Mail, Connecticut was the first to approve a baby bonds program for low-income families, which has yet to receive funding. California, however, is the first state to tie the trust fund for kids who lost parents to COVID-19.

End Poverty in California hopes this trust fund is the first of many programs for the children of low-income families. Soon, the group hopes every child born in California will be able to receive guaranteed cash assistance for their future.