A pilot program offering select families extra money every month has concluded, and officials said Tuesday it helped them reach goals and experiences that were previously unimaginable.
The Economic Mobility Pilot program launched in October 2023, and gave families who need financial help, but aren’t eligible for local or federal aid, $750 every month for 18 months. It concluded in March, and a final report on the program is expected in January.
But during a Board of Supervisors committee meeting, experts involved with the project said it offered the randomly selected 180 families opportunities to focus their time on their kids, community and ways to save.
Similar programs used in other places have produced promising results, several supervisors said, but they’re expecting to use the findings to ensure county resources are accessible to residents who need them.
“We commit a certain amount of resources right now targeted toward helping people who fall within different tiers of this population,” Chairman Jeff McKay said. “Maybe some of the requirements for those are not flexible enough to meet the real need that’s out there. Maybe a rejuggling of those makes economic sense.”
The program was funded using money from the American Recovery Plan Act and the Human Services Innovation Fund. The families selected have at least one child under 16, are employed and earn 150% to 250% of the federal poverty level. The county previously described the cohort as “one paycheck away from financial hardship.”
Amy Best, a George Mason University sociologist, said participants were “able to pay bills in full and on time and reduce debt, which minimized financial worry and allowed participants the mental space to plan for the future.”
“As one participant shared, ‘The money is oxygen for me,'” Best said. “The outcome was being able to better budget, improve credit scores and start to build modest savings for emergencies.”
One person reported being able to get a dental procedure that had to be postponed because of cost, and another used the money for healthier food for her son, who has autism and is prediabetic.
“For some families, it meant a first-time Christmas tree or kids coloring books,” Best said. “For others, it meant swim lessons and rec soccer, activities that contribute to healthy social and emotional development for kids, or it might have been a family camping trip.”
The extra cash allowed some participants to save more, which helped when unexpected expenses popped up, Best said.
“Others gained new freedoms because of the pilot funds,” Best said. “Not having to continue with a second job on top of full-time work allowed for more sleep or more time to spend with their children at the pool or the park.”
The ultimate goal, according to Scott Mengebier, senior director of research and evaluation with United Way of the National Capital Area, is not “to expand public assistance, but to reduce the need for it” by making sure those who need it “have access to higher wages and real economic opportunity.”
It’s unclear whether a permanent county program is feasible, but Supervisor Dalia Palchik said it’s “no longer just the right or the moral thing to do, but it’s an economic imperative for all of us, for our families, for our community, and for how we invest.”
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