Young Parents Basic Income Program
This is one of four county-run Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) pilots operated by Santa Clara County, targeting young parents (ages roughly 14-26) who are pregnant or caring for young children and who have had contact with the child welfare or probation systems. Roughly 98 selected participants receive $1,200 per month, unconditionally, for 24 months via prepaid debit card, while a larger comparison group receives supportive services and research compensation instead of cash as part of a randomized controlled trial. The program is funded by the County of Santa Clara (with prior GBI cohorts drawing on ARPA, General Fund, state, and philanthropic dollars) and is administered by the Office of the County Executive in partnership with Probation, the Department of Family and Children's Services, and Public Health. It builds on the county's original 2020 guaranteed income pilot for former foster youth, aiming to improve child care access and generational outcomes for young families.
Guaranteed income, child-welfare-involved parents, probation-involved parents, randomized controlled trial, prepaid debit card disbursement, part of Santa Clara County's 9-pilot regional GBI movement
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- County of Santa Clara – Office of the County Executive
- City
- San Jose
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 408-299-5105
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 98
- Funding type
- Government, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 28,800 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,200 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Prepaid debit card (via Community Financial Resources / U.S. Bank), a savings account option through a partner federal credit union has also been used across the county's GBI pilots
- Benefit details
Participants receive $1,200/month for 24 months (total $28,800), with no restrictions on how funds are spent. The program uses a randomized controlled trial design: eligible referrals are split between a paid group (~98 people) and a larger unpaid control group (~130 people) who receive supportive services and compensation for participating in research activities instead of cash. Paid participants also get access to supportive services (housing stability, financial coaching, community-building) and take part in monthly cohort workshops whose topics are participant-driven. The county's card provider shares high-level, anonymized transaction data with program staff to track savings behavior.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible participants are young parents, generally cited as ages 14-26, who are either pregnant or caring for young children and who have interacted with the child welfare system and/or probation. Enrollment is exclusively through referrals from partner agencies (Probation, Department of Family and Children's Services, Public Health) — there is no open public application. Selection into the paid vs. unpaid (control) group is randomized as part of the county's research design.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 14
- Maximum age
- 26
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Single Parent, Expecting
Justice
- Justice involvement status
- On Probation
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Counties covered
- Santa Clara
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Complementary program enrollment required
- Participants engage with county supportive services (housing stability, financial coaching, self-sufficiency and community-building support) and are expected to take part in monthly cohort workshops and research/data-collection activities (including the control group).
- Research / participation requirements
The pilot is administered by the Santa Clara County Office of the County Executive (Program Manager Melanie Jimenez Perez) using a randomized-controlled-trial design described by the county as its 'gold standard of evaluation.' Roughly 98 recipients receiving cash are compared against roughly 130 non-paid control-group members who receive in-kind services and compensation for participating in surveys/workshops. Card providers share anonymized, high-level transaction data (e.g., savings transfers, overdrafts) with the county team. Findings are intended to build a broader evidence base — alongside the county's foster-youth, justice-involved, and unhoused-high-schooler GBI cohorts — to support a future case for state/federal guaranteed income funding.
Application Process
- How to apply
There is no open application. Enrollment happens only through referrals from county partner organizations — Probation, the Department of Family and Children's Services (DFCS), and Public Health — who identify and refer eligible young parents into the program.
- Selection process
Eligible referrals are randomly assigned into either the group that receives the $1,200/month payment or a control group that receives supportive services and compensation for participating in research/data-collection activities instead of cash, as part of the county's randomized controlled trial evaluation model.
