BIG:LEAP (Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot)
BIG:LEAP was a City of Los Angeles guaranteed income pilot that gave 3,200 low-income Angelenos with a dependent child (or who were pregnant) $1,000 a month, no strings attached, for 12 months between January 2022 and March 2023. It targeted residents living below the federal poverty level who had experienced COVID-19-related economic or medical hardship. The program was run by the Community Investment for Families Department and funded by the city's general fund plus council-district and philanthropic investments (including the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles). It was also a randomized controlled trial, studied by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) with UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health, comparing outcomes against a ~4,992-person control group.
Largest US municipal guaranteed income pilot at time of launch, randomized controlled trial, COVID-19 economic relief, intimate partner violence research, prepaid Mastercard disbursement
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- City of Los Angeles Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD)
- City
- Los Angeles
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://bigleap.lacity.gov/
- Phone
- +1 213 473 3231
- cifd.info@lacity.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 3,200
- Funding type
- Government, Philanthropic, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 12,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,000 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- Prepaid/digital debit card (Angeleno Connect IRC Mastercard, administered by MoCaFi)
- Benefit details
Participants received $1,000 loaded onto an Angeleno Connect IRC Mastercard on the 25th of each month for 12 months, usable for any purpose with no spending restrictions or work requirements. The City retained the right to reclaim unused card funds under certain conditions (e.g., inaccurate application information, loss of residency, program termination, or funds left unused for 12+ months). Participants were offered benefits counseling to help minimize impacts on other public assistance. Total program investment was approximately $38.4 million.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Applicants had to be Los Angeles City residents, at least 18 years old, have at least one dependent child (under 18, or a student under 24) or be pregnant, have household income at or below the Federal Poverty Level, and have experienced economic or medical hardship related to COVID-19. Over 50,000 people applied; 3,200 were randomly selected by CGIR to receive payments, and roughly 4,992 additional applicants were randomly selected into an unpaid control group compensated with gift cards for completing research surveys.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Expecting
- Number of dependents (minimum)
- 1
Health
- Health conditions
- COVID-19 (required economic or medical hardship related to COVID-19)
Financial
- Income as % of Federal Poverty Level
- 100 %
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Los Angeles
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Research was led by the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy & Practice, in partnership with UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health, as a mixed-methods randomized controlled trial comparing the 3,200-person treatment group to a ~4,992-person control group (control group participants received $30 gift cards per completed survey). The final report, released July 30, 2024, found overwhelmingly positive outcomes: improved financial well-being (increased ability to cover a $400 emergency), enhanced food security, reduced severity/frequency of intimate partner violence, reduced fear of neighborhood violence, and increased maintenance of children's extracurricular activities, relative to the control group.
Application Process
- How to apply
Applications were accepted online during a defined open enrollment window in late 2021 through the City's BIG:LEAP/CIFD application portal. The program is no longer accepting applications; the official site states BIG:LEAP is not currently accepting applications and directs non-selected/interested residents to other City resources.
- Selection process
Eligible applicants were entered into a lottery; the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania randomly selected approximately 3,200 participants from over 50,000 applicants to receive the monthly payments (treatment group), and separately randomly selected roughly 4,992 additional eligible applicants as an unpaid control group for research comparison purposes.
