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Summary

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 program was implemented in New Orleans, LA; New York City, NY; Omaha, NE; and Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN.  

101048-Study of Baby's Firs
Populations and employment barriers: Parents, Public benefits recipients

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

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Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2024 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $73 per year 0.002 911
Long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $-2,734 per year -0.075 911
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase employment Short-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable -3% (in percentage points) -0.081 931
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable 1% (in percentage points) 0.020 922
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Mixed support Effect size could not be calculated -- 922
Long-term Supported Effect size could not be calculated -- 922
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods Little evidence to assess support Effect size could not be calculated -- 922

Effectiveness ratings

  • Well- supported
  • Supported
  • Mixed support
  • Not supported
  • Insufficient evidence
  • Cannot assess support

Studies of this program

Study quality rating Study counts per rating
High High 1
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Implementation details

Dates covered by study

Study enrollment ran from May 2018 to June 2019. Study data collection occurred from May 2018 through June 2022, consisting of three annual follow-up surveys at the children's first, second, and third birthdays.

Organizations implementing program

Local charitable organizations

Populations served

All participants were adult mothers with low income, with an average age of 27 years old at the time of their child’s birth. Most mothers reported receiving some type of government benefit (95 percent) and were either Black (45 percent) or Hispanic (45 percent). Forty-five percent of participants were single parents.

Description of services implemented

The program utilized a straightforward delivery model for cash transfer: 

  • 4MyBaby debit card. Mothers received a co-branded Mastercard debit card 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. 

Service intensity

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. 

Comparison conditions

The comparison group received a nominal monthly transfer of $20 using the same distribution process as the program group. 

Partnerships

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. 

Staffing

Research assistants and students at Teachers College, Columbia University managed the 4MyBaby hotline. 

Fidelity measures

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.  

Funding source

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 information contained here reflects how the program was implemented at the time of the evaluation.

Local context

The program was implemented by local charitable organizations in New Orleans, LA; New York City, NY; Omaha, NE; and Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN.  

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
41%
White, not Hispanic
10%
Another race
4%
More than one race
4%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
41%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

State(s) where implemented

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY Canada

Pathways to Work refers to programs by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some program names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.