How LA County’s guaranteed income pilot has helped former foster youth find their footing

Guaranteed income programs have been one of the biggest experiments in local government this decade: At least 12,000 Californians have received benefits from income pilot programs, the number of which has ballooned since Stockton launched an experiment giving randomly selected residents $500 per month just 3 years ago.

Los Angeles County’s guaranteed income program, Breathe, is one of the largest in the state, and the county has been expanding the benefits to more and more residents as the county collects data on its impact.

It started out in 2022 with an initial offering of 1,000 payments of $1,000 monthly for low-income L.A. County residents. The program has now been through two rounds of expansions: Once last year to include $1,000 monthly payments to 200 former foster youth between the ages of 18 and 21, and again this year to include $500 monthly payments for 2,000 additional former foster youth.

L.A. County officials are assessing Breathe’s success alongside researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, who are conducting a study they plan to publish in 2027.

So far, county officials have said that their preliminary findings are encouraging, and that the program is meeting its goals of alleviating the economic pressure on recipients. Early data indicate that Breathe money is primarily being used for food, groceries and household goods, and that many recipients are taking advantage of the program’s coaching and support services.

One recipient’s story with Breathe

For Jessica Hernandez, who started getting Breathe benefits a year ago, the program was a lifeline during an uncertain period in her life. Hernandez, who said she largely raised herself and her siblings while growing up in the foster care system, had just been laid off from a temporary job without a replacement in sight.

“The job search was very tough as well,” she said. “It was just a lot at that time.”

Hernandez’s therapist had encouraged her to apply for Breathe, but she hadn’t been counting on that income – and she certainly wasn’t expecting it when she got a cold call one day in 2023.

Jessica said she normally doesn’t answer calls from numbers she doesn’t recognize, but something made her pick up this time. The voice on the other line asked to speak to her about her Breathe application.

“I was still kind of shaking at the same time because I was like, I don't know what's going on or what's the result,” she said.

Soon, the voice was filling her in with information: What address to go to, how to activate her card to receive her benefits, and her points of contact for the program.

“That same day I cried. I was very emotional,” Hernandez said. “I didn't expect anything, and I was very happy to have the help from them.”

Not just money

In addition to the $1,000 monthly benefits, the Breathe program pairs recipients with coaches who provide them with a support system to help them use the benefits.

Hernandez, who works as a security guard for concerts from Taylor Swift to ATEEZ while attending Cal State University, Long Beach, said the program’s been essential to help her use the money and figure out her next steps in life.

“This program has made a huge impact on me and my life, with having the support of my coach checking in,” Hernandez said. “They're always there like, ‘Hey, what help do you need? How can I help you?”

In order to provide this support, the county partnered with the nonprofit Strength Based Community Change, which acts as the program administrator for Breathe.

“Our approach is different, it's more relational,” SBCC director of economic vitality Ely Fournier told LAist last year. “We're wanting to know not just what's wrong, but what gifts and talents you have, what goals, what passions you have, and how can we begin to align some of these things now with this added income of $1,000 a month.”

Since she got connected with the program, Hernandez said she’s attended workshops and events ranging from community service to financial literacy, including managing credit and budgeting tips for the recipients.

“People may be like, ‘Oh, a thousand dollars is a lot,’” Hernandez said. “For some people it is, but also, you are free to do what you want, and sometimes you do have to budget how you're using it.”

Hernandez also helps with SBCC, translating between English and Spanish for the organization’s members and guests. Beyond that, she’s using her passion for languages to learn Korean, French and Italian.

For Hernandez, though, one of the biggest advantages so far has been meeting and getting to know her fellow Breathe recipients.

“Each one of us, our story is powerful,” Hernandez said.

New possibilities

It’s not a requirement to put the Breathe money towards entrepreneurship, but many recipients have done so: Fournier said participants have started planning for their own businesses and side hustles from fashion to food vending.

“It's really giving them an opportunity to dream a little bit more and to believe, ‘You know what, in this window of this income that I have that I wasn't expecting, maybe this is a great time to take a risk and try some stuff – maybe this is the time where I can use this as capital to launch my side hustle or go back to school,’” Fournier told LAist last year. “That's what we've been seeing.”

Although guaranteed income programs can be politically controversial, Fournier stressed that he’s seen firsthand the difference Breathe makes in its recipients’ lives.

“There may be a lot of naysayers that disagree and see this as a handout,” Fournier said. “I guess our experience with Breathe is that this added income of $1,000 a month really creates an opportunity for individuals to begin to think a little bit outside of their box.”

Hernandez, who’s majoring in criminal justice and plans to pursue the field as a career, is one of the Breathe recipients who has started to take advantage of SBCC’s resources for life planning and business development.

“That is something that I was so excited about, because I was like, ‘Oh, as a beginner, what do I do? I don't have enough at the moment, but what can I do?’” Hernandez said. “So I attended some of their workshops. They were really amazing, very inspirational. You learn a lot as a beginner.”

And while she’s just starting out on her plans now, Hernandez has a long-term goal to open a coffee shop that can serve as a community center.

“I feel like a lot of people of my age or like even younger teenagers love coffee or who just, you know, want to hang out with their friends,” she said. “I also want to build a link tree with the services or the programs that I'm currently in. I want to add those there so that any youth or anyone that comes by, they could check it out and then be like, ‘Hey, I want to donate.’”