$18,000,000 Allocated for ‘No Strings Attached’ Guaranteed Income Payments in Major US City

A guaranteed income program on the West Coast is preparing to hand out millions of dollars to support at-risk youth.

Los Angeles County’s guaranteed income program Breathe is expanding, set to hand out around $18 million with no strings attached to people transitioning out of the foster care system.

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The program is gearing up to double the number of participants.

“The program’s expansion, adopted by the Board of Supervisors (Los Angeles County’s governing body) on Tuesday, August 6th, will provide 2,000 foster youth between the ages of 18 and 21 with $500 monthly or $1,500 quarterly stipends for up to 18 months.”

To qualify, applicants must be a former Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services’ foster youth. Further, applicants must,

“- Live in a Los Angeles County neighborhood that falls at or below 100% of the County’s Area Median Household Income (AMI)

– Have a household income that falls at or below 100% of the County’s AMI, for a single person household

OR

– Have a household income that falls at or below 120% of the County’s AMI for households with two or more persons (see Income Eligibility Table below)

– Have been negatively financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

– Not be currently enrolled in another Guaranteed Income project offered by the County, a city, or other public or private entity.”

According to a study conducted the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research, previous beneficiaries of the Breathe program used the no-strings-attached cash primarily to purchase food, groceries, and household goods, resulting in a reduction of economic stress for participants.

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