LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday allocated $2 million for a new guaranteed income pilot program intended to serve survivors of domestic violence and foster youth.
In a unanimous vote, council members requested that the city controller transfer $1 million each from two accounts associated with Council Districts 9 and 13 for the program, known as Supporting Transitional-Aged Youth and Survivors in Achieving Financial Empowerment, or STAY SAFE.
Council members Curren Price and Hugo Soto-Martinez, who represent Council Districts 9 and 13, respectively, led the effort.
The program is expected to provide $1,000 per month for two years to survivors of intimate partner violence and transitional aged-youth, who are current or former foster youth between the ages of 16 and 24.
In 2022, Price proposed a pilot guaranteed income program, which was later implemented from January 2022 to March 2023. The initiative, known as Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot, or BIG:LEAP, provided 3,200 households living below the poverty level with $1,000 in cash each month for 12 months.
Results showed it helped families cover emergency expenses and reduced food insecurity, officials said. Some participants also reported that unrestricted funds helped them pay school tuition, start small businesses and cover expenses such as clothes and shoes for children.
The Center for Guaranteed Income Research at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice and UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health also studied the impacts of BIG:LEAP. Researchers found a positive link in reducing domestic violence by giving individuals experiencing such violence a guaranteed income.
“Today, we are building on the success of that program with a new $2 million investment, and this next phase will continue to support survivors of intimate partner violence — the group that saw the most dramatic improvements in that pilot program,” Soto-Martinez said.
Soto-Martinez also emphasized that STAY SAFE will provide support to transitional aged-youth, some who face barriers to stability and employment.
“For the first, we’re pairing these direct payments with job training through the Hospitality Training Academy, which has a near 100% success rate in placing their graduate into high quality, good paying union jobs,” Soto-Martinez said.
According to a staff report, STAY SAFE will integrate services through the city’s FamilySource Centers. The program will be overseen by the Community Investment for Family Department.
Additionally, the department will partner with 22 organizations to streamline the application, selection and enrollment process. The program is expected to assist 83 participants, and may increase if more funding becomes available.
Last year, Los Angeles County expanded its guaranteed income program known as “Breathe” to help more than 2,000 non-minor dependents in the foster care system.
The Breathe program began as a pilot project in March 2022, providing monthly $1,000 payments to 1,000 in-need residents. It was later expanded to include 200 former foster care youth adjusting to life outside the system.
Cities such as Stockton, Oakland, Chicago and San Antonio, as well as King County in Washington, have conducted similar programs to assist low-income families, homeless youth and individuals leaving the foster care system.
Not everyone agrees that such programs are effective. Some critics argue that they can remove incentives for people to find work, and are unfair to taxpayers.
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