Long Beach guaranteed income: City announces plans to begin test program by end of year
LONG BEACH, Calif. (CNS) -- Long Beach officials on Wednesday announced plans for a pilot "guaranteed income" program, which will pay $500 a month to 500 households in one of the city's lowest-income communities.
According to the city, the neighborhoods in the 90813 ZIP code have a median income 25% lower than any other ZIP code in Long Beach.
"Our guaranteed income program will help single parents and families with direct assistance and basic needs in a community that has long struggled with poverty," Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. "The research collected from this pilot will help us build a national case for these programs across the country and our city.''
The pilot program will target single-parent households, with the city providing up to 250 participants with $500 payments each month for a year. The state is expected to provide matching funds to expand the $500 monthly payments to 250 additional households.
Participating households will also receive free child care, job training, transportation assistance and access to digital tools such as cell phones and internet connections.
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The Office of Economic Research at Cal State Long Beach will study the impacts of the program and report at the end of the pilot program.
The city's Economic Development Department will begin accepting applications from eligible residents this summer, with the payments expected to begin by the end of the year.
