Media Contact: John Henry, jhenry@childrensdefense.org, CDF Media Relations Manager, 708-646-7679; Julia Davis, jdavis@childrensdefense.org, Director of Youth Justice and Child Welfare at CDF-New York
NEW YORK, NY—Findings from two studies show powerful results from unconditional cash grants pilot program for young adults transitioning out of New York City’s foster care system: increased sense of well-being and self-determination, greater portion of youth in labor market, and enhanced financial stability, with no increase in negative outcomes like jail entry or shelter use.
In the summer of 2023, YouthNPower: Transforming Care launched the first direct cash transfer pilot in the United States designed by and for young people who had aged out of foster care. Over the next year, 100 youth aged 18-22 in New York City received $1,000 per month in unconditional direct cash payments for 12 months.
Children’s Defense Fund-New York and the Public Science Project at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, both members of the YouthNPower Collective, authored the report, “Starting to Live”: Findings of a Direct Cash Transfer Pilot for Former Foster Youth in New York City. Combining surveys, focus groups, and interviews with young people in the pilot, the collective found the young adult participants experienced measurable positive impacts across five essential domains for healthy independence during the period they were receiving unconditional cash support.
The Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence (CIDI) in the Office of the Mayor of New York City authored YouthNPower Direct Cash Transfer Pilot: Year 1 Report. It is a rigorous evaluation utilizing a quasi-experimental design, comparing outcomes for youth who received the unconditional cash assistance to those of a comparison group of youth who did not receive the grant. Researchers analyzed administrative data from multiple city and state agencies and confirmed cash grants did not suppress labor market participation and complemented income without a disincentive to work. Countering skepticism about direct cash assistance, this study suggests that the YouthNPower pilot offers a promising model for supporting young adults transitioning from foster care.
“Starting to Live”: Findings of a Direct Cash Transfer Pilot for Former Foster Youth in NYC found positive impacts among pilot participants with regard to:
- Self-Determination and Future Mindsets: 95% of participants reported an increased sense of control over their current decisions and the ability to make future plans after a year of support. Being able to choose where to work and live, to consider longer-term goals—not just survival—is a radical and validating change in life after foster care.
- Education and Employment: Ninety percent of participants who were enrolled in school or a training program reported the money helped them feel less concerned about finances so they could stay in school during the pilot. Research showed more young people in the pilot program were working and attending school after 12 months of unconditional cash support.
- Financial Security: Seventy-five percent of participants reported they could save money during the program’s 12-month duration, which helped them weather financial emergencies.
- Personal Wellbeing and Community Connections: Participants expressed improvements to their mental health (86%) and physical well-being (77%) after receiving a year of monthly payments. They also shared money with family (76%) and people in their community (31%).
- Reduced Contact with Punitive Systems: The percent of young people in the pilot reporting having contact with police during the prior year fell from 48% to 33% after 12 months of support.The percent of pilot participants who were parenting who reported having been the subject of a child protective services investigation before the pilot was 57%. During the pilot, that number fell to 32%.
Read the Report: “Starting to Live”: Findings of a Direct Cash Transfer Pilot for Former Foster Youth in NYC
CIDI’s YouthNPower Direct Cash Transfer Pilot: Year 1 Report examined administrative data from city and state agencies and found:
- During the pilot program’s 12-month duration, a greater proportion of the young people who received monthly cash payments were engaged in the formal labor market, by earning taxable income at any point during the four fiscal quarters most aligned with the pilot period (69%), compared to a control group of young people who did not receive any money (48%).
- Without unconditional cash support, youth in both groups lived far below the federal poverty level (in 2024, $15,060 for a household of one) in a city with a very high cost of living.
- The report found no statistically significant difference between young people in the pilot and the control group with regard to the use of public benefits or unemployment insurance.
- Youth in the pilot and the control group experienced similarly low levels of homeless shelter use.
Read the Report: YouthNPower Direct Cash Transfer Pilot – Year 1 Report
Considered together, the findings from the two reports suggest that cash support is most effective when integrated into a broader network of policies, relationships, and resources that smooth the transition from foster care and uphold young people’s dignity and autonomy.
“Many young people who age out of the foster care system in New York City face significant precarity. Consistent financial support provided them with a foundation for independence, enhanced their economic condition and resiliency to weather financial shocks, improved their housing, as well as their health and sense of well-being. With a year of support, more young people were in school, working, and planning for careers. Underlying these positive changes for pilot participants were the ways that unconditional cash strengthened community ties. I am so thankful for the partnership with young people in our YouthNPower: Transforming Care collective. Their call to action for us demands that we work to make unconditional cash a core part of long-term policy solutions to help young people across New York thrive.” Julia L. Davis, Director of Youth Justice and Child Welfare, CDF-NY
“The YouthNPower: Transforming Care pilot – designed and led by youth with experience in the child welfare system – demonstrates the power of unconditional cash for improving the lives of young people who age out of foster care. The data is clear: consistent cash support, coupled with affording youth the dignity and respect to make decisions about how to spend it, leads to improved outcomes in employment, education, housing, and personal wellbeing, all essential for building successful and meaningful lives. The Public Science Project is proud to stand with the YouthNPower Collective in their evidence-based call to make unconditional cash an integral component of just care for New York State youth as they grow into adulthood.” María Elena Torre, Director of the Public Science Project, CUNY
“This study is one of the first to use administrative data to evaluate the impact of direct cash grants. This research provides evidence that a cash grant to youth transitioning from foster care is a tool that when nested with other supports can transform lives and empower young people.” Maryanne Schretzman DSW, Executive Director, CIDI
“New Yorkers For Children is proud to have facilitated YouthNPower’s groundbreaking direct cash transfer pilot by leveraging our expertise to distribute funds swiftly, securely, and in the preferred forms to young people aging out of foster care. These findings affirm what we have long known: that cash assistance paired with wraparound and holistic supports positively transforms the trajectory of a young person’s life. Armed with these reports, we will continue to advocate for government policies that promote guaranteed basic income programs at scale.” Alan Yu, Executive Director, NYFC
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About YouthNPower: Transforming Care
YouthNPower: Transforming Care is an intergenerational collective of young people with lived experience in the child welfare system, university researchers, policy advocates, legal experts, and community organizers. Our team brings together a range of expertise—rooted in both lived experience and long-standing professional practice—to work collaboratively toward structural change in how we support youth and families in New York. A collaboration between the Children’s Defense Fund-New York and the Public Science Project at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, the new report “Starting to Live” brings together multiple strategies—including collaborative research, policy advocacy, and organizing—to address these challenges and create more just and supportive systems. The pilot also included support from the Center for the Study of Social Policy, and from colleagues at New Yorkers For Children who managed the monthly payments to participants. For more information about YouthNPower: Transforming Care visit: https://youthnpower.org/reports/.
About Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence
The Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence (CIDI) is a research and policy center located in the Office of the Mayor of New York City, reporting directly to the Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives. CIDI fosters collaboration with all Health and Human Services agencies to promote citywide policy change toward the goal of improving the effectiveness of New York City government. CIDI embraces the Mayor’s goal of delivering cross-agency solutions to big, bold issues that impact the health and well-being of the city’s most vulnerable people. To learn more about CIDI, please visit www.nyc.gov/cidi.