The Baby’s First Years (BFY) Unconditional Cash Transfer provided monthly, predictable unconditional cash transfers to new mothers with low-income to increase household financial resources and encourage investments in child development during the first years of children’s lives. Mothers were given a debit card in the hospital, and a cash gift of $333 was loaded into the card monthly. Mothers also had access to a hotline number for assistance with the card use. There were no work-related requirements and no restrictions on how mothers could spend the cash gifts.
The cash gifts were originally intended to last 40 months but were subsequently extended to last 76 months.
The study was conducted in New Orleans, LA; New York City, NY; Omaha, NE; and Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN.
The comparison group received a nominal monthly transfer of $20 using the same distribution process.
BYF unconditional cash transfer participants were recruited between May 2018 and June 2019 with a follow-up period of three years after enrollment corresponding to the baby’s first, second, and third birthdays.
The program utilized a straightforward delivery model for cash transfer:
- 4MyBaby Debit Card. Mothers received a co-branded Mastercard debit cards during their hospital stay. The card could not be loaded with money from any other sources.
- Cash Transfer. A monthly cash gift of $333 was loaded on the debit card on the day of the child’s birth date along with a text message reminder. Mothers received the cash gifts on an opt-out basis.
- 4MyBaby Hotline. Mothers could call customer service at the 4MyBaby Hotline with any issues accessing their funds.
The study used transaction data and participant uptake rates as indicators of fidelity. The uptake of the cash gift was nearly universal among study participants.
The program was funded by a large coalition of funding sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation; Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Arrow Impact; BCBS of Louisiana Foundation; Bezos Family Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Bill Hammack and Janice Parmelee, Brady Education Fund; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (Silicon Valley Community Foundation); Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies; Child Welfare Fund; Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund; Ford Foundation; Greater New Orleans Foundation; Heising-Simons Foundation; Jacobs Foundation; JPB Foundation; J-PAL North America; New York City Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity; Perigee Fund; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Sherwood Foundation; Valhalla Foundation; Weitz Family Foundation; W.K. Kellogg Foundation; and three anonymous donors.
The study was conducted in New Orleans, LA; New York City, NY; Omaha, NE; and Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN.
The program was implemented through local charitable organizations.
Research assistants and students at Teachers College, Columbia University managed the 4MyBaby hotline to address any difficulties in accessing the funds in their debit card.
Eligible mothers had to be low-income adults (18 or older) with full-term infant scheduled for discharge into their custody. The sample was racially and ethnically diverse: 42 percent identified as Hispanic, 39 percent as Black, 11 percent as White (non-Hispanic), and 7 percent as multiple races or other. At baseline, mothers were 27 years old on average, and over 95 percent reported receiving some form of government benefit.
The cash gifts were initially intended to last up to 40 months. Due to additional fundraising and disruptions during the pandemic, cash gifts were extended to 76 months.