Efforts to enroll children in savings accounts for higher education expand in Monterey County.

What started as a state savings account and scholarship program for children in 2022, designed to help students pay for college or apprenticeship programs, is now seeing results. 

The CalKIDS scholarship, which was established and funded by the State of California in 2022, automatically awards money for college to all children born in California on or after July 1, 2022, and eligible public school students. These funds, held in a college savings account until the student is 17, are worth up to $1,500 for eligible public school students. Babies’ families can register newborns beginning at just 90 days old for their starting $100.

Since its founding, a million children statewide have claimed scholarships.

In Monterey County, 69,017 students are eligible for CalKIDS Scholarships, amounting to $40.5 million. Only 33 percent have claimed their CalKIDS accounts. 

Dulce Madrigal, 22, a former Hartnell College student, will graduate debt-free from UC Los Angeles. Madrigal is the eldest of five siblings, and she had to navigate scholarship and financial matters on her own. She was a CalKIDS recipient.

“My CalKIDS funds helped cover my textbooks and gas while attending Hartnell,” Madrigal said.

Monterey County Office of Education, along with Hartnell College Foundation, Bright Futures, school districts and others, is collaborating to ensure more kids open their savings accounts. This includes providing how-to enroll videos in English, Spanish and Indigenous languages and helping students to get access to their funds. 

There is also a new website called WebGrants where school districts can check eligible students in grades 9-12.

“Now we have access for those high school students to be able to tailor that information,” says Tony Amezcua, director of the county-wide Bright Futures Educational Partnership. They are also working on a way to provide similar information to students enrolled in TK to 8th grade.

Qualified recipients can claim their funds until age 26. Initial accounts are seeded at $100 for newborns with additional deposits of up to $175. Children in public school receive $500, with an additional $500 for those who are considered high-need, such as foster care or unhoused children (a student can receive up to $1,500).

Another group, migrant students, don’t receive additional funding. Constantino Silva, MCOE’s senior director of migrant education, suggested updating the legislation in the future to include migrant students in the high-need criteria.

Students and parents can use the Statewide Student Identifier, SSDI, or their date of birth to check if they qualify for CalKIDS.

Next year, California will implement a new graduation requirement for high school students: a financial literacy course. Madrigal, who has a brother in middle school, says it will help her brother make better decisions post-high school.

“I think it's very beneficial, especially when you come from parents who don't have financial literacy,” she added.