Research is clear that families turn to cash assistance in times of deep hardship and emergency. Today, the number of people needing to rely on cash assistance in New York City is the highest it has been in almost 25 years. In October, more than 100,000 NYC families were enrolled in cash assistance for needed support.
In the “world’s wealthiest city,” a shameful 25 percent of children are living in poverty, which means that a family of three is earning under $25,000 a year. Even with every form of additional assistance, from food stamps to housing vouchers, city families on benefits cannot break through the poverty line.
NYC Family Policy Project dived into learning about cash assistance and guaranteed income (GI) to explore how NYC and State cash support policies can respond to the demands of parents and young people impacted by the child welfare system. Policy visions from Rise, YouthNPower and the Narrowing the Front Door to NYC’s Child Welfare System Work Group have called for a shift toward unconditional cash support for families.
This report:
- Shares findings from guaranteed income pilots and child welfare research that document the effects of sufficient, reliable, respectful and responsive cash on family well-being and integrity.
- Outlines how New York’s current cash system can make urgent policy adjustments to realize these benefits.
- Offers possibilities for longer-term investments in cash support policy that have the potential to better support family health and well-being, as well as reduce child welfare involvement tied to economic stress.
The goal is to help advocates, policymakers, journalists and elected officials envision concrete steps that can build toward a more family-supportive cash policy landscape.

The Protective Power of Cash
Forced to drain her savings when she got unexpectedly cut off of cash assistance, Christine Joseph feared that working more hours at her part-time job would only hurt her family: “Cash assistance is supposed to be a stepping stone to help you out, but there is a constant fear of making one mistake and losing everything.”
Repeatedly rejected by the public benefits system just when she needed support and flexibility to reunify with her son from foster care, Shaniqua Green felt concerned about maintaining her calm and sobriety: “Some days I do break down and cry, you understand? Because it’s a reminder of everything.”
Both mothers needed to mix income from paying jobs with cash assistance as they worked to establish stability for their families. And both found themselves set back, afraid and uncertain of how to plan ahead as they dealt with a safety net system that is not set up to promote family well-being.
Three years ago, New York State set a goal of cutting child poverty in half over 10 years and the governor appointed the Child Poverty Reduction Accountability Council (CPRAC) to examine potential policy changes that can enable the State to reach that goal. With CPRAC poised to recommend significant investments in cash access, elected officials have a chance in the coming budget session to act dramatically to protect New York children and families.
As legislators move to increase cash support for families, it’s also important to consider the way assistance is delivered. Evidence from dozens of studies shows that families benefit in unique ways when cash support is significant enough to cover basic needs, is provided in ways that are dependable and aren’t time-consuming and shaming; and can be accessed in difficult times.
Results from guaranteed income pilots show that families are able to stabilize, plan ahead, save, meet children’s needs and spend more time together when offered reliable, significant support provided without strings attached.
Research on the effects of economic policies on child welfare involvement finds that policies that protect against economic hardships, shocks and setbacks reduce investigations, maltreatment and family separation.
Currently, cash assistance in New York provides too little cash to live on and is unpredictable, burdensome and stigmatizing while leaving families vulnerable to state intervention. These two growing research bases indicate that shifting New York’s cash support to be sufficient, reliable, respectful and responsive can intentionally build family well-being and protect against child welfare involvement.
New York City and State have the power to:
- Raise cash assistance benefit levels so that families with the lowest incomes can meet basic needs, lowering stress and increasing the time parents can spend with their children;
- Adjust cash assistance regulations to better protect savings so families can cope with future economic setbacks;
- Reduce uncertainty in the way cash benefits are delivered and address unnecessary shaming interactions so that families have greater control over their lives and can plan ahead;
- Layer on targeted guaranteed income supports to help families weather critical life stages and transitions, such as new motherhood and the transition out of foster care;
- Expand access to short-term emergency cash to cushion families facing economic shocks and setbacks.
By redirecting anti-poverty funds back toward cash assistance and shifting the system to more closely align with the documented benefits of unconditional cash, New York City and State can strengthen economic security and mobility, protect family autonomy and integrity, and buffer families against setbacks and separation.
