$1,125,000 To Be Handed Out With Zero Strings Attached As Major US County Prepares To Relaunch Guaranteed Income Program: Report

Dozens of families will receive no-strings-attached payments for an entire year as a major US county prepares to run its second guaranteed income experiment.

Durham County, North Carolina is opening applications this month for DCo Thrives, a guaranteed income program targeting low-income families, reports  The Herald Sun.

One hundred and twenty-five families will be selected to receive $750 per month to use as they wish every month for one year. DCo Thrives will be administered by the nonprofit Durham Children’s Initiative.

The program, which aims to find out whether the free extra cash can improve the well-being of children and their families, will also have a control group of 125 participants. The two groups will be required to complete surveys, the results of which researchers will study. While the surveys will be conducted online, participants may be invited for an interview with the researchers.

“Both groups will be asked to fill out surveys and will be compensated $100 for their survey completion. Data from the DCo Thrives pilot program will be used to help understand the effectiveness of guaranteed income programs in Durham and beyond.”

The guaranteed income program is open to adults who are parenting at least one child of under 18 years of age. The household income of the potential participants must fall below 30% of the median income in Durham and Chapel Hill. Participants will be selected randomly.

According to Spectrum News 1, Durham County’s first experiment of a guaranteed income program, known as StepUp Durham, was focused on ex-convicts. StepUp Durham started in March of 2022 and offered $600 a month to 109 previously incarcerated people for one year.

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