Guaranteed Income Works:Data fromSAN DIEGO, CA
San Diego for Every Child (SDEC)
The San Diego for Every Child (SDEC) Guaranteed Income Pilot provided 150 families with $500 per month for two years. Launched in 2022 by Jewish Family Service of San Diego, in partnership with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, families were eligible to participate if they had at least one child under the age of 12, were living below 200% of the federal poverty line, and resided within one of four San Diego County communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID pandemic, as well as other economic and environmental challenges: Encanto/Bay Terraces (92114), Paradise Hills (92139), National City (91950), and San Ysidro (92173).
Over 5,000 people applied, demonstrating the need in these zip codes. Independent researchers randomly selected 150 to receive the guaranteed income, and an additional 150 to serve as the control group, who did not receive the $500 payments. Results of the mixed-methods, randomized controlled trial show that recipients were able engage in longer-range planning, temporarily improve food security, foster more peaceful home environments and support their families and communities.
Key Takeaways
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Recipients reported significantly more household income and less concern about utility payments after one year of the cash transfers compared to the control group, despite external pressures such as inflation, rising housing costs, and reductions in the safety net. Qualitative data suggests a shift from survival spending to longer range planning, including reducing debt, repairing credit, and investing in things like transportation to access stronger employment opportunities.
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There was a significant reduction in food insecurity among recipients after the first year, showing that the cash helped recipients have enough to eat during a time of steep increases in food costs. Reductions in pandemic-era emergency SNAP benefits, coupled with the increase in food prices, align with the observed decrease in food security in the second year.
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Household chaos scores were significantly lower among recipients compared to the control group at 6 and 12 months. Recipients described reduced financial strain leading toward more peace and stability at home along with shifts in their attitudes and perspectives.
In interviews, recipients described being able to take a break from the daily grind of survival in order to participate in family activities and spend more quality time together as a family.
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Recipients were significantly more likely to help out friends and family, whether by giving cash, offering a ride, or providing other forms of community care. In interviews, recipients described how the extra cash allowed them to care for others on a societal level.
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The employment rate amongst recipients increased by 14 percentage points, compared to 7 percentage points in the control group, and job retention was higher amongst recipients (80.9% versus 75.3% of the control group). Recipients were also more likely to move from part-time to full-time employment (58.6% of recipients compared to 35.7% of the control group) and from full-time caregiving into paid employment.
The economic conditions facing all participants in the study were challenging. San Diego has a high cost of living, including for necessities like housing and child care. A family of four needs to earn just over $100,000 per year to meet their basic needs in San Diego, according to The University of Washington’s Self-Sufficiency Standard Calculator, but SDEC families made just one-fifth of that, an average of $22,000 annually. The SDEC pilot launched during a time of historically high inflation rates on virtually all basic necessities and pandemic-era increases to traditional safety net programs expired during the pilot. Despite these economic challenges, recipients were able to increase full-time employment, engage in longer-term planning, foster more peaceful home environments and support their families and communities. This demonstrates the enormous flexibility of unconditional cash to meet a wide variety of needs.