STAY SAFE
STAY SAFE (Supporting Transitional-Aged Youth and Survivors in Achieving Financial Empowerment) is a $2 million guaranteed income pilot run by the City of Los Angeles's Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD) for survivors of intimate partner violence and transitional-aged current/former foster youth. It provides roughly 83 participants with $1,000 a month (or an alternate $6,000 lump sum plus 18 monthly payments) for 24 months, totaling $24,000 per participant. It is funded by City Council discretionary funds from Council Districts 9 and 13 plus a Mayor's Fund grant, and builds directly on findings from the City's earlier BIG:LEAP pilot.
Guaranteed Income, Domestic Violence/IPV Survivors, Transitional-Age Youth, Foster Youth, Council District-Led, Job Training Pairing
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- City of Los Angeles Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD)
- City
- Los Angeles
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 213 473 3231
- cifd.info@lacity.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 83
- Funding type
- Government, Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 24,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,000 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct Deposit (ACH), Prepaid Debit Card (Angeleno Immediate Response Card via MoCaFi), Bank On referral for unbanked participants
- Benefit details
Participants receive either $1,000/month for 24 months, or a $6,000 lump sum in month one followed by $1,000/month for 18 months — both totaling $24,000. Enrollment, selection, and disbursement are run through a centralized online portal built with vendor Forward (funded via a $250,000 Mayor's Fund of Los Angeles grant). Cash payments are paired with job training through the Hospitality Training Academy, which the city says has a near-100% job placement rate into union jobs.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Applicants must be City of Los Angeles residents, at least 18 years old, and have an existing relationship with one of 22 pre-identified community-based partner organizations serving IPV survivors and/or transitional-aged/foster youth (e.g., Jenesse Center, Peace Over Violence, Covenant House, Homeboy Industries, Los Angeles LGBT Center). Media coverage describes the youth target population as ages 16-24, but the CIFD/CAO program eligibility criteria specify a minimum age of 18.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
- Maximum age
- 24
Family
- Family Status
- Foster Youth
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Los Angeles
- Counties covered
- Los Angeles
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Complementary program enrollment required
- Job training through the Hospitality Training Academy is paired with the direct cash payments
- Research / participation requirements
CIFD is partnering with the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at the University of Pennsylvania — the same research partner used for BIG:LEAP — and is pursuing additional philanthropic funding specifically to support a research component for STAY SAFE; the exact scope/requirements of participant research involvement have not been detailed in public sources as of this research.
Application Process
- How to apply
There is no general public application; eligible individuals must have an existing relationship with one of 22 pre-identified CIFD community partner agencies, which assist applicants in submitting an application through a centralized online portal (built with vendor Forward).
- Selection process
Enrollment, selection, and intake are streamlined and coordinated by the 22 community partner organizations in conjunction with CIFD's Office of Community Wealth, which oversees program implementation; no lottery process has been publicly described (unlike BIG:LEAP).
