The social assistance program as a mainstay instrument of the Indonesian government to maintain people's purchasing power and tackle socio-economic problems during the current economic crisis seems to have encountered a lot of steep paths in its distribution. Problems were found in almost all lines, from upstream to downstream. On the upstream level, problems related to the validity of social assistance recipient data arise, while on the downstream, problems generally arise due to improper targeting of social assistance distribution in the community. This paper seeks to contribute some thoughts to optimize the distribution of social assistance to the community, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.