Study results halfway through a pilot program distributing $1,000 in unconditional monthly cash assistance to Baltimore parents suggest that guaranteed income “improved at least some aspects of life” for participants.
A report by a consulting agency evaluating the two-year Baltimore Young Families Success Fund pilot said participants’ income, housing independence and mental health all improved in the first year of the program.
“We know that so many of Baltimore’s young families simply need the opportunity to thrive, but often don’t have the resources to help them make it happen,” Mayor Brandon Scott said in a news release. “This interim report shows how powerful the certainty and reassurance that direct assistance can be for families like these.”
More than 4,000 parents between the ages of 18 and 24 submitted an eligible application and 130 were randomly selected. The applicants were mostly women with a median annual household income of $9,000 and an unemployment rate of 30%. Replacements were found for 23 families who were selected but could not be reached or declined, some over the would-be loss of other benefits. Payments started in August 2022 and run until July 2024.
A control group of 156 parents represents what would have happened without the intervention, according to the report by consulting firm Abt Global.
For participants, average annual household income increased from $14,361 to $23,608 in the first year, compared with an increase of $12,141 to $16,233 for the control group. The increase for participants at the 12-month point was, however, a slight decrease from where they were at the 6-month mark, when they reported an average household income of $26,926, the study says. It notes that despite the increase, participants “remained economically vulnerable” after 12 months, as their average income was still $1,200 below the federal poverty level.
Participants’ unemployment remained more than twice as high compared with the average Baltimore resident, though labor force participation jumped from 64% to 71% while those renting independent living situations increased from 52% to 64%, according to the report. None of the program’s participants were homeless after one year, compared with 5% of the control group.
The program was launched by the city along with the nonprofit CASH Campaign of MD, which provided benefits counseling about any possible loss of benefits, such as Social Security or food stamps, as a result of increased income.
Participants continued to report being slightly less stressed as compared to when they applied, and had “significantly lower stress scores” than the control group at both 6 and 12 months in. The report says the additional income did not seem to impact physical health or child care opportunities, and 80% of participants reported experiencing food insecurity in the past month.
When it was launched in 2022, Baltimore’s guaranteed income pilot was hailed for focusing on participants’ health in addition to their financial standing. Guaranteed income has become a popular talking point among progressive leaders in recent years, though the notion was championed as early as the 1960s including by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The topic of nationwide implementation, however, remains polarizing. Supporters of guaranteed income believe a widespread system could break cycles of poverty, while critics suggest it would encourage counterproductive spending.
A guaranteed income program of some form has been implemented in more than 150 cities across the country since 2022, according to the nonprofit Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, which hired Abt Global to evaluate the guaranteed income pilot in Baltimore as well as in six other cities.
“The demands of supporting a family make it nearly impossible for young parents to make long-term plans for a better future,” Mayors for a Guaranteed Income founder Michael Tubbs said in the news release. “The results of Baltimore’s program mirror dozens of studies showing that guaranteed income unlocks enormous potential, allowing people to get better jobs, further their education, move into better housing and improve the quality of life for their families.”
The program is funded by $4.8 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act money the city received during the coronavirus pandemic.
