“This direct cash transfer is grounded in the belief that economic and concrete supports build toward true equity – when each and every family will one day be positioned at the same starting line and where these families in need will finally have the proper supports and resources to enjoy the stability they so desperately desire and deserve.” – Suzanne Miles-Gustave
A young mother of two found herself overwhelmed by life’s demands. Struggling with unstable employment, temporary housing, and the impending arrival of her third child, she felt overloaded by stress, weighed down by too much pressure and too little support. On one shoulder, she carried the weight of the daily challenges that so many parents do. On the other shoulder, the broader systemic barriers that are often invisible to many of us weighed just as heavily as they stifled her pursuit of stability.
It was during this challenging time that she encountered Children’s Wisconsin’s Employment and Education Services, which utilizes Mobility Mentoring, a transformative program designed to lift the burdens that often keep families like hers from moving forward. The program offered a structured approach to alleviating the heavy load through coaching, goal-setting, and skills development, focusing on key areas such as family stability, financial management, and career advancement.
Mobility Mentoring utilized goal setting and incentives to help her to visualize and navigate her journey out of the overwhelming cycle of poverty and instability. She began by addressing her educational needs, achieving her General Educational Diploma, commonly known as the GED, which expanded her employment opportunities and marked a significant milestone in her journey.
Financial literacy became the next crucial step. Through the program, she learned about credit repair and effective budget management, essential skills that helped transform her financial landscape. Her efforts were reflected in her soaring credit score, which jumped from the low 400s to an impressive 720, lifting many of her financial burdens and opening doors to stable housing and better employment opportunities.
The program’s impact extended beyond just financial relief and empowerment. It reinforced her personal agency, teaching her to navigate and manage life’s challenges with new skills and confidence. This empowerment was not just for her benefit but also for her children, whom she was now equipped to guide with a strong example and informed advice.
Today, she shares her journey with others as a community advocate, helping to lighten the load for others facing similar challenges. Her story is a powerful testament to the effectiveness of supportive professionals and innovative programs and their role in transforming overloaded lives into stories of resilience and empowerment.
Her transformation from being overloaded to becoming a beacon of strength and stability illustrates the critical importance of addressing the external pressures that often keep families from thriving. Through targeted support and personal determination, she managed to rewrite her narrative, proving that when the load is lightened, the road ahead appears clearer, less cluttered with obstacles, and more navigable.
Tackling the Underlying Conditions by Elevating Dr. King’s Call for a Guaranteed Income
Much like Jessika, the Milwaukee mother whose story I shared in my February article, this mother’s stability and her ability to care for her children were precarious due to the economic instability that she was experiencing. Fortunately, supportive programs and innovative models were available to them and critical in improving their economic stability.
However, as has been the running theme throughout my articles, I believe that if we change the underlying conditions that overload parents and families with challenges like economic instability in the first place, then mothers like Jessika would not have to experience the crises that often lead them to these supportive programs or, worse, to intrusive systems like child welfare.
During this past year, I have explored the many systems-level approaches that may change these conditions for families. Whether it is an increase in the minimum wage or expanding the child tax credit, there is strong evidence that family economic stability reduces the risk of child neglect. After writing my article in February in which I recalled President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s call for a Guaranteed Income, I began looking further into examples of Dr. King’s call to action.
In the past couple months I have been encouraged by the discovery that there are a number of guaranteed income projects across Wisconsin and the country. The Bridge Project in Milwaukee, the Madison Forward Fund, and the New York Direct Cash Transfer Pilot all provide a pathway towards greater family economic stability and the opportunity to learn how a guaranteed income impacts the lives of overloaded families.
The Bridge Project
In Milwaukee, The Bridge Project was recently announced by the Zilber Foundation to address economic disparities and support the well-being of low-income families. In January 2024, the Bridge Project arrived in Milwaukee, expanding from its origins in New York City. This initiative echoes President Johnson’s call in his War on Poverty to give every individual a fair chance to develop their capacities and contribute meaningfully to society.
The Bridge Project provides unconditional cash assistance to low-income, pregnant individuals—a direct intervention to combat childhood poverty at its roots. The Milwaukee program specifically targets 100 pregnant individuals within certain zip codes, prioritizing neighborhoods such as Lindsay Heights, Clarke Square, and Layton Boulevard West, all part of the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative. These are communities where the need for economic empowerment is both urgent and profound.
Originally launched in New York City in June 2021, The Bridge Project aims to provide financial stability during the crucial early years of a child’s life. Participants in Milwaukee will receive a $1,125 prenatal stipend, followed by $750 monthly for the first 15 months, and then $375 for the final 9 months. This approach resonates with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of a Guaranteed Income as a direct solution to poverty. As he proclaimed in 1967, “the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective—the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.”
The objectives of the Bridge Project are multifaceted: reducing poverty, improving health outcomes, and promoting economic stability for these families. By providing regular, unconditional cash payments, it gives recipients the means to cover essential needs such as rent, food, and healthcare, thus preventing poverty at its earliest stage. It places trust in mothers to make the best decisions for their families, embodying a philosophy of empowerment and dignity free from the constraints of judgment or condition.
Preliminary data from New York indicates promising outcomes, such as improved mental health for participants, reduced financial stress, and better developmental opportunities for children. This evidence aligns with Dr. King’s advocacy for economic justice, showing how such initiatives can foster not only financial stability but also the relational dynamics that help children and families thrive.
The Bridge Project stands as a beacon of hope in the ongoing battle against poverty, challenging the notion that economic disparity is an insurmountable problem. By integrating research and data collection, the project aspires to advocate for policy changes that reinforce economic security for marginalized communities, creating ripples of positive change that echo the aspirations of both President Johnson and Dr. King.
The Madison Forward Fund
The Madison Forward Fund, much like The Bridge Project, embodies the enduring struggle for economic justice. In Madison, this guaranteed income pilot program emerges as a response to the persistent gaps in our economic safety net. It seeks to explore the benefits of providing direct financial assistance to low-income families, aiming to alleviate poverty and foster economic stability through unconditional direct cash transfers.
Launched in September 2022, the Madison Forward Fund reflects a growing recognition that empowering families with financial support can have transformative effects on their lives. The Madison Forward Fund targets families with at least one child aged 0-17 living at home and a household income below 200% of the federal poverty line. By providing $500 per month for a year to 155 families, the program eliminates the stigma often associated with public aid. This approach recognizes the dignity of every individual, trusting them to use the funds in ways that best meet their unique needs.
In the spirit of Dr. King’s vision, this “no strings attached” philosophy promotes autonomy and respect for the recipients, allowing them to navigate the complexities of their financial landscape without undue interference. The Madison Forward Fund not only provides relief from immediate financial strain but also seeks to ignite a broader conversation about the role of economic stability in fostering healthy communities.
By addressing the root causes of poverty rather than its symptoms, the Madison Forward Fund is part of a larger tapestry of efforts to fulfill the promise of economic justice and family stability. It echoes Dr. King’s call for a guaranteed income, recognizing that the most direct solutions often carry the greatest potential for lasting change. In doing so, it seeks to offer a new model of support that is not merely reactive but proactive, aiming to uplift families and break the cycle of poverty that persists in our society.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services’ Direct Cash Transfer Pilot
Meanwhile, in New York State, the Office of Children and Family Services is forging new ground with its Direct Cash Transfer Research Pilot program. This initiative focuses on the impact of direct cash transfers on families’ interactions with the child welfare system. It is an unprecedented step toward redefining how we address poverty-related neglect, which often results from financial hardship rather than willful disregard of children’s needs.
The Office of Children and Family Services’ Acting Commissioner Suzanne Miles-Gustave emphasizes the innovative nature of this program, stating, “We’re taking innovative, bold steps towards building New York’s child and family well-being system grounded in prevention and upstream interventions.” This sentiment captures the essence of the program, which seeks to explore whether financial independence for families can reduce their future interactions with the child welfare system. By aligning with the principles of prevention and empowerment, the program represents a shift in how child welfare services are conceptualized and delivered.
This pilot aims to track the effects of financial support across multiple counties, offering families $500 per month via a debit card for a year—a total of $6,000 per family. Research consistently shows that modest economic support can be a powerful deterrent against the need for child welfare services. The pilot, the first of its kind, examines how direct cash transfers influence parental physical and mental health, child development, and overall financial stability. It targets households eligible for a differential response to child protective services reports.
By delving into the complexities of economic disparity and its connection to family well-being, the New York State Direct Cash Transfer Research Pilot is more than just an experiment—it is a call to action. It is about redefining how we support families, prioritizing direct assistance over bureaucratic interventions. In doing so, it aligns with the ethos of both President Johnson and Dr. King, advocating for a more just and equitable society where every family has the opportunity to thrive.
Economic Stability is Just One Critical Pathway towards Child and Family Well-being
While there is significant promise and evidence behind improved economic stability contributing to greater child and family well-being and prosperity, it alone does not solve all the complex challenges that families face today. But we know now more than ever before that by improving the economic conditions for families, we reduce the likelihood of child maltreatment. For example, a study on state-level minimum wage increases found that a $1 increase in the minimum wage resulted in a significant decrease in child maltreatment reports. This reduction was particularly notable in cases of neglect.
Economic stability decreases parental stress when that parent knows that they will be able to pay rent, put food on the table every day, and pay their bills. Guaranteed income and direct cash transfer programs have found that most parents are using the money that they receive on exactly those things. But well-being goes beyond being able to meet basic needs, so there will be more to explore as to how promising system changes like a guaranteed income may contribute to improved social connectedness and equitable treatment and representation in our systems.
Overloaded: Understanding Neglect is a Milwaukee-based podcast series that aspires to build a shared understanding of neglect, its underlying root causes, and how they overload families with stress.
In this episode, Clare Anderson of Chapin Hall joins Luke Waldo to share her expertise on the root causes and role of poverty and their intersection with child neglect, and the practices and policies that effectively address the economic needs of overloaded families that may reduce family separation for reasons of neglect.
Luke Waldo
Yamasan and Natalia Lebedinskaia (via Shutterstock)
Overloaded: Understanding Neglect is a Milwaukee-based podcast series that aspires to build a shared understanding of neglect, its underlying root causes, and how they overload families with stress.
