Blog

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
November 1, 2020

Contact: Parisa Esmaili, Executive Director, Community Financial Resources
parisa@communityfinancialresources.org

Community Financial Resources Partners with the County of Santa Clara to Pilot First-in-Nation Basic Income Program for Young Adults Transitioning Out of Foster Care

Community Financial Resources will be providing the financial tools and services needed to initiate basic income distributions to former foster youth.

OAKLAND, CALIF. – Community Financial Resources (CFR) is supporting the County of Santa Clara’s first-in-nation basic income program for young adults transitioning out of foster care by providing safe affordable tools for cash transfers. The pilot program offers financial coaching and a $1,000 monthly stipend to youth who will no longer be eligible for foster assistance. Community Financial Resources provides their Visa Prepaid Debit Card, a no-fee debit card that can be used as an on-going bank account, to ensure youth have safe and immediate access to their basic income, and facilitates the cash payments for the pilot. CFR will also provide de-identified transactional data to the County’s independent evaluators on how funds are being used.

On October 15th, the 72 youth will receive their first month of basic income on the CFR Visa Debit Card. In the coming months, evaluators will be measuring the success of the program by looking at how the monthly stipend and financial coaching has impacted participants income volatility as well as their financial, physical, and physiological well-being. By providing consistent financial support the program aims to empower participants and position them for long-term stability.

“Guaranteed basic income combats inequality, income volatility, and poverty. It also requires safe affordable tools for cash transfers,” said Community Financial Resources Executive Director, Parisa Esmaili. “As the lead product provider in the country’s first two basic income programs, Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration and the County of Santa Clara’s Pilot for Foster Youth, we have learned that, while the idea of basic income has quickly gained traction, practical tools for implementation are harder to come by and essential for participants to establish a foundation on which to build wealth.”