MoCo BOOST
MoCo BOOST (Building Our Opportunity and Strength Today) was a two-year guaranteed income pilot administered by Montgomery County's Department of Health and Human Services (Maryland), providing $800 per month for 24 months to 300 low-income households enrolled between April and October 2022. Participants were split into a 200-household 'main cohort' of families with at least one child under 18, and a 100-person cohort drawn from Services to End and Prevent Homelessness (SEPH) clients who had recently exited a county shelter. The pilot was funded through a public-private partnership between Montgomery County government and private philanthropic support from the Meyer Foundation and the Greater Washington Community Foundation, with UpTogether administering cash disbursement and the Montgomery County Collaboration Council serving as community partner. It was evaluated by the Urban Institute, which published an 18-month interim outcomes report (September 2024) and a final evaluation (June 2025); Morgan State University was also separately contracted in 2022 for a portion of the evaluation. The pilot concluded by late 2024/early 2025 with no confirmed continuation funding.
Guaranteed Income, Homelessness Continuum, Dual-Cohort Design, Cash Plus Coaching, UpTogether, Maryland
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
- City
- Rockville
- State / Province
- Maryland
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://mocoboost.org/
- Phone
- +1 240 777 0311
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 300
- Funding type
- Government, Philanthropic, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 19,200 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 800 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct deposit to bank account (ACH), Digital/Virtual payment card, Digital/Virtual wallet (UpTogether)
- Benefit details
Participants received $800 per month for 24 months (total $19,200) with no restrictions on use. Funds were disbursed via UpTogether, initially through ACH direct deposit or a debit card for unbanked participants, and about halfway through the pilot were standardized to UpTogether's online 'virtual wallet,' a change some participants said added transfer fees and access friction. Participation in other public benefits did not disqualify applicants, and the county secured state-level waivers to protect many participants from losing other benefits, though some federal benefit risks remained. Each participant was paired with a paid 'guaranteed income coach' who checked in quarterly and could refer them to additional noncash supports. Most main-cohort funds went toward housing, food, and children's needs; interim gains in housing stability, mental health, and food security for the main cohort had largely faded by the 24-month mark, while SEPH cohort housing outcomes were mixed to negative.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligibility required being a Montgomery County resident age 18 or older drawn from DHHS's own client base; the program was invitation-only and did not accept open applications. The 100-person SEPH cohort (65 individuals, 35 with family) was randomly sampled from clients who had recently exited a county shelter through Services to End and Prevent Homelessness. The 200-household main cohort was randomly sampled from DHHS clients who had received or applied for county benefits since 2020 and had at least one child under 18, prioritizing households with a child age 6 or under, an elder (65+) plus a minor, COVID-19 emergency relief eligibility, or single-adult headship. There was no published explicit income ceiling beyond DHHS client status, though baseline data show most participants earned well under $30,000 per year. Enrollment closed in October 2022 and the pilot is no longer accepting participants.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Single Parent
Housing
- Housing status
- Homeless
Geography
- US states covered
- Maryland
- Countries covered
- United States
- Counties covered
- Montgomery County
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Complementary program enrollment required
- Guaranteed income coaching (mandatory pairing with a coach for check-ins and referrals to noncash supports)
- Research / participation requirements
The pilot was evaluated primarily by the Urban Institute under a $100,000 non-competitive county contract for 'evaluation and coordination of data collection, analysis, and reporting,' using baseline, 18-month, and 24-month participant surveys, county administrative/HMIS data, American Community Survey comparisons, and participant/stakeholder interviews. Morgan State University was separately awarded a $100,000 non-competitive contract in July 2022 to evaluate participants' financial and psychological well-being, but no Morgan State-authored public report was located; the two published evaluation reports (18-month interim, September 2024, and the final two-year evaluation, June 2025) were authored solely by Urban Institute researchers. Of 300 enrollees, 11 declined to share data with the evaluation team; survey response rates were 60% at 18 months and 50% at 24 months. Findings indicated short-lived improvements in housing stability, mental health, and food security for the main cohort that largely faded by program end, while SEPH cohort outcomes on housing were mixed or negative, with small sample sizes limiting statistical confidence.
Application Process
- How to apply
Applications are closed; the pilot was invitation-only. In 2022, DHHS mailed/emailed invitations (in English, Spanish, and French) with a QR code link to an online application to eligible clients identified through random sampling; no new applications are being accepted.
- Selection process
Selection was randomized by DHHS. For the main cohort, DHHS drew a random sample of 1,066 eligible adults from its Enterprise Integrated Case Management System, invited them to apply, received 401 applications, and randomly selected 200. For the SEPH cohort, SEPH staff drew random samples from clients who had exited county shelters and were contacted by phone, email, and mail to complete an online application; 100 were selected (65 individuals, 35 with family) from a broader SEPH clientele pool of 420. A governance body of DHHS staff, partner organization representatives, and county councilmembers set the eligibility/priority criteria.
