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Counties Advancing Guaranteed Income for Families, Children, and Communities

Counties Advancing Guaranteed Income for Families, Children, and Communities

A new learning opportunity to explore the stabilizing effect of a guaranteed income and how counties can engage with pilots and policy work around the country.

 

Key Dates:

  • Applications due: Wednesday, March 6, 2024
  • Applicants will be notified by: Friday, March 8, 2024
  • Sprint Kickoff: Thursday, March 21, 2024
  • Duration: 6 weeks (March 21- April 25, 2024)

Results for America invites place-based teams to apply for this 6-week virtual Sprint led by Counties for a Guaranteed Income (CGI) and the National Association for Counties (NACo). Selected collaborative government and local practitioner teams committed to advancing financial stability through a guaranteed income will receive expert guidance on design, implementation, and sustainability of a guaranteed income pilot program. In addition to best practices and findings from other pilots, and networking with like jurisdictions, this is an opportunity to build a coalition of diverse individuals, organizations, and sectors that are all working in partnership to push funding for a guaranteed income forward nationally.

Sprint Goals & Objectives:

Participating teams will work through a 6-week online learning curriculum with a cohort of peers from counties across the nation. At the end of the sprint, participants will be ready to implement a community engagement plan that could include any or all of the following elements:

  • Community Informational Session
  • “It’s Basic” Screening with Post Panel
  • Focus Groups
  • Roundtable Discussion
  • Community Webinar
  • Working Group/ Task Force/ Advisory Committee

Within a year, participants could…

  • Conduct a feasibility study for a county/state pilot proposal
  • Launch a pilot
  • Advocate for guaranteed income initiatives or other cash-based policies

Read on to learn more about the need for guaranteed income implementation on a county level, and more Sprint logistics and requirements.

Economic Benefits for Jurisdictions:

  • Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot in King County: Evaluation and Policy Analysis (March 2022)
    • In regard to health, each participant interviewed mentioned reduced stress and better quality of life (more time spent with family, prioritizing school, etc.). Spending trends that each participant mentioned were: using GBI stipends to pay for rent and bills; starting and adding to savings; and spending on essential items such as food, clothes and hygiene supplies.
  • Arlington’s Guarantee: An Interim Report on the Guaranteed Income Pilot in Arlington County, Virginia (December 2022)
    • Participant responses reflect the flexibility that regular monthly cash creates for families, enabling them to pay for basic needs, improve wellness, plan for the future, and much more. For the first six months, the most common categories mentioned were food, utilities, and household expenses for children. Much of the narrative feedback from participants centers on the stress-reducing effects of the cash. Several participants also noted that they were able to catch up on debt or start new endeavors.
  • Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) Final Report (April 2023)
    • The treatment condition reported lower rates of income volatility than control, lower mental distress, better energy and physical functioning, greater agency to explore new opportunities related to employment and caregiving, and better ability to weather pandemic–related financial volatility.
  • “My kids deserve the world”: How children in the Southeast benefit from guaranteed income (November 2023)
    • Abt’s new report analyzes the experiences of, and quotes directly from, MGI-funded pilot participants in Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala. Louisville, Ky.; and Shreveport, La.
    • Parents and caregivers were better able to provide resources for their children’s needs, such as clothing and food, and better housing for children’s safety. They described being able to be more present and engaged with their children, and invest in their development and enrichment activities.
  • Saint Paul People’s Prosperity Pilot (PPP) Final Report (December 2023)
    • Researchers found that the number of people employed increased from 49% at the beginning of the pilot to 63% six months after the program ended. While actively receiving guaranteed income payments, families also maintained or improved their financial stability, allowing them to save money and smooth income volatility. There was an increase of 7 percentage points in participants transitioning to better quality homes during the guaranteed income program.
    • Recipients showed few symptoms of anxiety or depression (measured on the Kessler scale) and had favorable levels of well-being across the three subscales of general health, physical limits, and physical functioning. When payments stopped there was a decrease in average general health. The percentage of participants reporting feelings of high hope progressively increased throughout and beyond the study from 15% at baseline to 21% at the end of the program and 22% six months after the program ended.

A guaranteed income can:

  • Help recipients find long-term employment, further their education, and increase the economic security of their households.
  • Reduce stress and anxiety and improve mental and physical health, energy over fatigue, and emotional wellbeing.
  • Reduce household income volatility and improve overall financial resilience by helping people pay off debt and save enough money to cover an emergency.
  • Increase the amount of quality time parents are able to spend with their children, from daily tasks like helping with homework to special occasions like family outings.
  • Contribute to an overall improvement in people’s personal relationships and self-worth.
  • Increase the economic resilience, safety and prosperity of communities.
  • Allow for more agency and freedom for people to decide what works best for their situation.

The Issue:

  • The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Prosperity and economic well-being, however, are not broadly shared: Over 40 percent of Americans live in or close to poverty, with Native American, Black, and Hispanic communities making up a disproportionate percentage of those who are economically poor. In 2018, 42 percent of working Americans made $15 per hour or less, below the $16 living wage threshold. Women, particularly women of color, are the most likely to live in poverty and are overrepresented in low-paying occupations.
  • Even before COVID-19, nearly 40 percent of Americans could not afford a single $400 emergency–and now, as the economic consequences of the pandemic unfold, low-income and Black and brown communities are bearing the brunt of the additional economic hardship. Pre-existing income disparities (for example, on average, white workers make 28 percent more than the Black workers and 35 percent more than Hispanic workers) have been intensified as the pandemic disproportionately affects the most vulnerable residents.
  • Contributing to the economic instability faced by many families has been the rise in income volatility. A changing labor market has meant that predictable work hours have become increasingly rare and that more and more workers are depending on income from commissions, tips, and hourly work with fluctuating schedules. As many as 89 percent of Americans see their income fluctuate by more than five percent month to month, and 60 percent see changes in spending greater than 30 percent from month to month. Even if a living wage is made, this volatility undermines the financial security that hard working Americans deserve.
  • In uncertain times, how might cities and local leadership work to provide economic stability and resiliency for their residents and build a safety net for the future?

A Solution from Stockton: Providing unconditional cash transfers to stabilize communities

  • Stockton, California, once the foreclosure capital of America and one of the largest cities in the country to declare bankruptcy, is now ranked the second most fiscally solvent city in the nation and is reinventing itself as a leader in progressive social and economic policy thanks to the leadership of former Mayor Michael Tubbs. Yet, many of Stockton’s residents still face significant economic hardship. Stockton’s median household income of $46,033, for example, falls far below the state’s median household income of $61,818.
  • To address residents’ income instability, the Office of Mayor Michael Tubbs, the Reinvent Stockton Foundation, the Economic Security Project, and the residents of Stockton, decided to test the nation’s first mayor-led guaranteed income initiative. A guaranteed income is a monthly, cash payment given directly to individuals. It is unconditional, with no strings attached and no employment requirements. Unconditional cash can help residents meet urgent needs like a new car battery, help to keep the lights on, or with an unanticipated bill that could otherwise trigger a downward spiral.
  • In February 2019, 125 Stockton residents began receiving a guaranteed income of $500 a month through the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED). Billed as “a hand-up, rather than a hand-out,” SEED sought to “empower its recipients financially and prove to supporters and skeptics alike that poverty results from a lack of cash, not character.”
  • SEED used data, both past and current, to guide its pilot. Empirical evidence gathered from guaranteed income pilot programs across the United States and in other countries around the world have shown that this kind of support increases educational achievement, improves health outcomes substantially, and has no negative effect on labor market supply. SEED actively partnered with university researchers to ensure that the lessons learned from the pilot were accurate, transparent, and community-focused.
  • Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania who studied Stockton’s SEED program found that:
    • Recipients found full-time employment at more than twice the rate of non-recipients.
    • Recipients reported spending their guaranteed income on everyday necessities and emergencies including items such as groceries, utility bills, credit card debt, and dental work.
    • Recipients were less anxious and depressed, and showed statistically significant improvements in emotional health, energy over fatigue, and emotional wellbeing.
    • Recipients improved their overall financial resilience; after one year, the number of recipients who could afford for an unexpected cash expense more than doubled, from 25% to 52%.
  • Originally slated to end in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled philanthropic donors to help continue the monthly payments through January of 2021. The pandemic also spurred the idea of guaranteed income forward, as the federal government began dispersing stimulus payments and expanded child tax credit payments to pull the country out of economic freefall. Guaranteed income went from a highly controversial idea to a widely accepted approach to economic stability, and dozens of pilots sprang up across the country, thanks to the work of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, the sister organization of Counties for a Guaranteed Income.
  • While guaranteed income is not a panacea for economic immobility, racial income inequality, and the many other complex economic and social issues prevalent in cities across America, there is a growing and robust evidence base that it can help increase economic stability, improve opportunity and create an economic foundation for those in need.

 

Ready to take action?
Apply to participate in our Sprint!

WHO SHOULD APPLY:

Place-based teams are invited to apply. County governments are strongly encouraged to bring together a team of key, diverse stakeholders to maximize the opportunity and establish a foundation for long-term success. Any county can apply regardless of target population for a potential pilot.

Participating members of the team could include, but are not limited to, leaders and staff from:

  • Required:
    • County Government
  • Strongly recommended:
    • City Government (including Mayor’s Office, City Council, and/or other city staff)
    • State Government (including State Representatives, etc)
    • Department of Health & Human Services
    • Department of Community Engagement / Neighborhoods
    • Department of Economic Development
    • Department of Education / Youth Development
    • Non-profit or community-based organizations (e.g. United Way, Urban League, etc)
    • Community Organizers
    • Community Foundations/Other Funders

SPRINT DETAILS:

  • When: Weekly 1 – 1.5 hour sessions from (March 21- April 25, 2024)
  • Where: Virtually via webinars and/or cohort discussions delivered via Zoom

ABOUT THE SPRINT FACILITATORS:
Weekly sessions will be designed and led by:

  • Counties for a Guaranteed Income (CGI) is a network of county officials advocating for a guaranteed income to ensure that all Americans have an income floor. Counties for a Guaranteed Income is led by co-chairs Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who is the first to promise a permanent program, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, who led the creation of Breathe: Los Angeles County’s Guaranteed Income Program, which is currently the largest in the nation. For more information please visit their website: https://countiesforaguaranteedincome.org/
  • The National Association of Counties (NACo) is an organization that represents county governments in the United States.It is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo provides services to the nation’s 3,069 counties. NACo’s membership totals more than 2,350 counties, representing more than 80 percent of the nation’s population. For more information please visit their website: https://www.naco.org/
  • Results for America (RFA) is a non-profit organization that specializes in working with local jurisdictions to identify policies and practices that work to open opportunities, advance economic mobility, and reduce racial disparities. They are experts in providing learning opportunities to help localities implement evidence-based solutions and benchmark their data-driven progress to improve outcomes in their communities. Results for America has successfully run 7 Solutions Sprints, supporting over 100 jurisdictions. For more information please visit their website: https://results4america.org/

ADDITIONAL PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS AND ELIGIBILITIES:

  • County teams applying to the CGI Sprint should have demonstrated commitment or interest in developing a guaranteed income opportunity in their community.
  • For a group of more than 3 people, commit to having at least one person that can attend all 6 sessions.
  • Committed to and achieving the goals of the sprint
  • Committed to race, gender, economic development and other equity

QUESTIONS?

Email: [email protected]

Watch Sprint informational webinar Apply by March 6, 2024