Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot

NCT07200648 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 849819
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 8,194
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to learn if receipt of a guaranteed income works to reduce financial hardship and improve quality of life. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.How does GI affect participants' quality of life?
2. 2.What is the relationship between GI and participants' subjective sense of self?
3. 3.How does GI affect participants' income, and through what mechanisms?
4. 4.How does the implementation of GI inform the existing safety net?

Conditions

Financial Wellbeing; Psychological Distress; Physical Functioning; Housing; Food Security; Income; Educational Attainment; Health; Well-being/Quality of Life; Employment; Family Dynamics; Stress

Keywords

guaranteed income; cash transfer

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Psychological distress (Kessler 10)

  Each item is scored from one 'none of the time' to five 'all of the time'. Scores of the 10 items are then summed, yielding a minimum score of 10 and a maximum score of 50. Scores totaling less than 20 indicate that a person is likely to be mentally well; scores between 20-24 suggest a person is likely to have a mild mental health disorder; 25-29 are likely to indicate a moderate mental health disorder; and those scoring 30 or higher are likely to have a severe mental health disorder.

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Financial Wellbeing (CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale)

  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Financial Wellbeing Scale is scored from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate a greater sense of financial well-being.

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Physical functioning (SF-36)

  Each response is scored as 0 (Yes, limited a lot); 50 (Yes, limited a little); or 100 (No, not limited at all). Averages closer to 100 indicate better physical functioning while averages closer to 0 indicate worse physical functioning.

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Food security

  4 items to assess past four week food insecurity: 1) worry about not having enough food, 2) inability to eat preferred foods, 3) having to eat foods that they did not want to eat, and 4) eating less because there was not enough food. Items scored as "yes" (1) or "no" (0).

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Household environmental instability (CHAOS)

  The Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS) is a 15-item scale that assesses household environmental instability. Each item is scored from 1 to 4. Scores of the items are then summed, with scores ranging from 15 to 60. The higher the score, the higher the level of environmental chaos in the home.

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Mattering (Mattering Index)

  The Mattering Index is a 24-item self-reported scale to assess an individual's sense of significance within their community and the extent to which they feel valued and recognized by others. The scale measures 3 dimensions of mattering: awareness (how people believe others perceive them), importance (how people believe that others are emotionally invested in them), and reliance (how much individuals feel others can rely on them). Item scoring is from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The awareness dimension accounts for 8 items, with total scores ranging from 8 to 40. The importance dimension accounts for 10 items, with total scores ranging from 10 to 50. The reliance dimension accounts for 6 items, with total scores ranging from 6 to 30. Higher total scores in each domain indicate a greater sense of mattering.

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Housing security

  Three items to assess 1) housing status (e.g., renter, homeowner, rent-to-own, etc.), 2) past 6 month evictions (yes/no), and 3) past 5 year mortgage default notices (number of times). Evictions and mortgage defaults are scored as "1" if the response is greater than zero, and "0" if the response is zero.

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Hope (Adult Hope Scale)

  The Adult Hope Scale is a 12-item self-reported scale that assesses one's ability to set goals ("agency" subscale; 4 items) and the confidence to pursue them ("pathways" subscale; 4 items). Item scoring is from 1 (definitely false) to 8 (definitely true) and there are 4 filler items that are not scored. Subscale scores range from 4 to 32; total scores range from 8 to 64. Higher scores indicate higher hope.

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Intimate partner violence (Composite Abuse Scale)

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Access to recreational opportunities for children

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

• Neighborhood safety

  Prior to baseline and at 6 month intervals until 6 months post-treatment

Study Arms (2)

Guaranteed income

EXPERIMENTAL

$1,000 of unconditional cash per month for 12 months

Other: Unconditional cash transfer

Control

NO INTERVENTION

No intervention

Interventions

Unconditional cash transfer OTHER

$1,000 unconditional cash transfer per month for 12 months

Also known as: Guaranteed income, Basic income, Guaranteed basic income, Cash transfer

Guaranteed income

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years of age or older,
• Resident of Los Angeles, CA,
• At or below 100% of Federal Poverty Level
• Have been negatively impacted by COVID-19
• Have a dependent

You may not qualify if:

• less than 18 years of age
• not a resident of Los Angeles, CA
• Above 100% of Federal Poverty Level
• Not negatively impacted by COVID-19
• Do not have a dependent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Pennsylvania: lead
• The City of Los Angeles: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Community Investment for Families Department - City of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, 90071, United States

Location

Related Links

• Related Info

Study Officials

• Stacia West, PhD

  The University of Tennessee

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Amy Castro, PhD

  The University of Pennsylvania

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Bo-Kyung Elizabeth Kim, PhD

  University of California, Los Angeles

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 9, 2025
• First Posted: October 1, 2025
• Study Start: December 1, 2021
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2023
• Study Completion: August 31, 2024
• Last Updated: October 1, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)