DeSantis uses federal COVID-19 funds to send $450 per child to 60,000 families
-Thousands of Florida families will receive one-time checks for $450 a child starting this week.
-Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he set aside $35.5 million of
COVID-19relief funds for the checks.
-The stimulus is directed at offsetting the costs of inflation, according to state officials.
Thousands of low-income Florida families are expected to receive relief checks to help offset inflation costs.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration on Thursday announced he’s reallocating some COVID-19 relief funds and sending $450 a child directly to struggling families in the state.
“This one-time payment assists families who are being affected by rising inflation and preparing to send their children back-to-school,” Laura Walthall, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Children and Families, said in a statement to Insider.
To fund the checks, the governor has set aside $35.5 million from the $1 billion the state received from the American Rescue Plan Act, according to an announcement from Casey DeSantis, Florida’s first lady.
Eligible recipients include foster parents, relative and nonrelative caregivers, and families receiving funds from the Florida Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or Guardianship Assistance Program, Walthall said.
The Florida Department of Children and Families said it expected about 59,000 families to receive at least one check, and, like other COVID-19 relief funds, there’s no application.