Guaranteed Income Works: Data from Santa Fe, NM
Santa Fe LEAP
Mayor Alan Webber, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, the Santa Fe Community Foundation, and Santa Fe Community College welcome the release of data for the Santa Fe Learn, Earn, and Achieve Program (Santa Fe LEAP), the first guaranteed income pilot program targeted toward community college students with lower incomes, caregiving responsibilities, and under 30 years old.
Santa Fe LEAP provided a monthly guaranteed income of $400 per month, no strings attached, to 100 recipients from October 2021 through September 2022. The program was designed to assist community college students with children, who face additional challenges to completing their degree due to the competing demands of working and raising a family. Unconditional cash gave recipients the freedom and flexibility to meet a variety of needs, from basic necessities to school costs and more.
The study period coincided with historic inflation in both consumer goods and housing costs, alongside record unemployment. The recipients faced an increasingly difficult financial reality while pursuing higher education, combined with the increased caregiving responsibilities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of Santa Fe LEAP show that recipients were able to reintegrate into the workforce, secure better housing, improve their financial security and maintain their progress or finish school.
Key Takeaways
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There was a statistically significant increase in employment within the first six months of the LEAP program, and a 19 percentage point increase in full-time employment by the end of the study period. Part-time and seasonal employment also increased by 5 percentage points, and there was a decrease in the unemployment rate, which began at 9% and dropped to 3% at the program’s conclusion.
There was a 19 percent point reduction in caregiving roles over the course of Santa Fe LEAP. This indicates that participants were able to make choices around the balance of labor market participation and caregiving responsibilities, perhaps being better able to afford childcare in order to work and attend school.
The increase in employment did not appear to impact school participation, as researchers found that “the proportion of respondents identifying as full-time students remained more or less constant at 5%, with a slight peak observed at 6 months” (p. 32)
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Guaranteed income increased the capacity of students to handle a $400 financial emergency with cash or a credit card paid off in full. The percentage of participants who could afford such an expense started low, at 22%, and increased to 39% six months after the program ended, suggesting a lasting impact.
Income volatility decreased by 6 percentage points over the duration of the study. This suggests that guaranteed income may have temporarily reduced fluctuations in month-to-month income.
LEAP participants prioritized generosity and the ability to give back to their communities. The percentage of LEAP participants who were able to financially assist their networks began at 44% and rose to 59% at both the 12- and 18-month marks. According to researchers, “financial well-being to these students is not demonstrated by the capacity to save, but the capacity to give” (p. 19).
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There is evidence that living conditions improved for participants. There was an increase in the percentage of recipients reporting living in “better homes”, beginning at 54% at the start of the program and increasing to 76% after the study ended. Concurrently, there was a decline in the percentage of students reporting their home as “same quality” and the proportion reporting being in a “worse home” remained low.
Neighborhood quality also improved, with the percentage of students reporting a better environment increasing from 40% at baseline to 65% after the program ended.
Santa Fe LEAP broke new ground by being the first pilot program in the country to specifically target students who were lower-income caregivers, and the results of this study show the benefit that guaranteed income could have for this population. Participants began the program with few financial resources and faced historically high inflation and rising housing costs in the aftermath of the pandemic. With all LEAP participants having children at home, they faced difficult mental and physical burdens juggling schoolwork, employment as well as domestic demands and the high cost of childcare. Guaranteed income gave these young parents the option to invest in important needs like their family’s housing, spending time with their children, showing generosity to family members, completing degree requirements at Santa Fe Community College, gaining full time employment, and, ultimately, securing their future.