UC Davis study finds Yolo County income program fell short of goals
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California’s guaranteed income pilot program aimed at lifting families out of poverty failed to guide participants toward long-term financial independence, according to a new report to work From researchers at the University of California, Davis.
Yolo County Basic Income (YoBI) program It provided “unconditional” cash assistance to a highly targeted group of at-risk residents.
While the payments served as a temporary lifeline, the researchers found that for the “substantial majority” of participants, the program was not enough to break the cycle of poverty.
“During [Basic Income] “While the study reduced some of the immediate urgency around money and provided families with some stability, many of the participants still had unmet financial needs.”
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Yolo County is one of many local municipalities that provide unconditional cash assistance to alleviate poverty. (Photo illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
The program differed from the standard Universal Basic Income (UBI) by focusing on families with children under age 6 who were already enrolled in the state’s CalWORKs program and experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
Nolan Sullivan, former interim director of Yolo County Health and Human Services, described the 2022 initiative as a “super targeted basic income” (TBI).
“This isn’t like randomly distributing wealth among a group of people,” Sullivan said. in question In that case. “We’re focused on a specific group… we’re really trying to break the intergenerational poverty rule.”
Under the pilot, participants received monthly checks averaging $1,289 over a two-year period. The goal was to raise family income to 200% of the federal poverty line.
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A recent study showed that the California guaranteed income program does not lead to financial independence. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The findings from UC Davis, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, underscore the “survival mode” trap that has been a recurring theme in guaranteed income experiments.
Respondents reported that although cash helps cover predictable expenses and pay down debts, it does not provide a buffer against the “unexpected.” Researchers noted that car repairs, medical bills or sudden job loss quickly wipe out the progress made in monthly salaries.
One participant told researchers that without the program, the participant would likely “look outside for a place to sleep.” But the study concludes that despite these “lived experience” successes in preventing homelessness, a clear path to total financial self-sufficiency remains elusive for most people.
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The Yolo County Board of Supervisors began making payments to poverty-stricken families in April 2022. Similar to many other guaranteed income programs, it started as a pilot and has been studied by academics to gauge its impact. (at Getty)
Despite the lack of long-term financial independence noted in the Yolo County study, advocates continue to push for expansion of such programs. Similar pilots have popped up across the country; Cook County, Illinois, recently transformed its pilot program into the nation’s first permanent guaranteed income program.
But critics argue that these programs create a “fiscal cliff” where recipients will be further strained when temporary government funding runs out.
Yolo County officials did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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