The California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS)
The California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS) was launched in 2022 by the State of California with a clear mission: make it easier for more children to save for their future education.
Administered by the ScholarShare Investment Board, CalKIDS takes the initiative by automatically offering newborns and eligible low-income public school children in California an initial seed deposit, along with other potential financial incentives. This ensures that they can start their college and career savings journey right from the beginning.
These accounts can make a huge difference in the lives of high school senior students who will soon be graduating and embarking on the next chapter of their lives. Besides helping finance higher education, they inspire students to consider attending college or career training. Studies have shown that children and families with even small savings set aside for college are three times more likely to enroll in college, and four times more likely to graduate, compared to children with no savings at all.
According to their records, CalKIDS accounts have been created for approximately 28 eligible seniors at Point Arena Joint Union High District. Yet, 0 of those have claimed their accounts, leaving roughly $16,000 in unclaimed money. Please join me in encouraging every senior in our school or district to check their CalKIDS eligibility.
Students and families can check eligibility and learn more about the program by visiting:
https://calkids.org/get-started/