Family Income for Empowerment Program (FIEP)
FIEP is a guaranteed income pilot run by Jewish Family Service of San Diego in partnership with the County of San Diego's Child and Family Well-Being Department (CFWB). It gives families with children under 18 who are referred directly by CFWB — because they are considered at risk of entering the foster care system — unrestricted monthly cash support of $500 for 24 months. The program is funded with public (county) dollars and evaluated by the County's Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Analytics (OEPA) to study how unconditional cash affects family well-being and foster-care entry risk. Applications are closed; all recipients came from a lottery among CFWB referrals, with priority for unhoused families and residents of 39 Health Equity ZIP codes.
Foster care prevention, Child welfare diversion, County-nonprofit partnership, Referral-based lottery, RCT evaluation
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) — Economic Mobility & Opportunity
- City
- San Diego
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 858 637 7350
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 485
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 12,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 500 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Benefit details
Recipients receive $500 per month, unrestricted, for 24 months ($12,000 total). All referrals came exclusively from CFWB — no outside or self-referrals were accepted. Recipients selected via lottery, with priority given to families residing in San Diego County's 39 Health Equity ZIP codes and to unhoused families. All eligible applicant families, whether or not selected for cash payments, were connected to optional supportive services and community resources.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Families must reside in San Diego County, have at least one child under 18 in the household at time of application, and be formally referred by the County's Child and Family Well-Being Department as at risk of entering foster care. The program is not open to public/self-referral applications. Priority in the selection lottery is given to unhoused families and residents of 39 designated Health Equity ZIP codes.
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Single Parent
- Number of dependents (minimum)
- 1
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Counties covered
- San Diego
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
The program's evaluation is led by the County of San Diego's Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Analytics (OEPA), studying how direct cash assistance affects the well-being of CFWB-referred families and their risk of foster-care entry, to inform system-level prevention policy. Exact participant-level research obligations (e.g., mandatory surveys) were not specified in available sources.
Application Process
- How to apply
Applications are not accepted from the general public. Eligible families are identified and referred exclusively by the County of San Diego's Child and Family Well-Being Department (CFWB); no outside referrals are accepted. The application period has since closed and JFS states there are no plans to accept new applications.
- Selection process
Among families referred by CFWB who meet eligibility criteria (San Diego County residency, child under 18 in household), recipients are chosen via random lottery, with priority given to unhoused families and to residents of the County's 39 Health Equity ZIP codes.
