“These programs are held to unrealistic standards, that this has to be some transformative, life-altering intervention, or it’s not worth anyone’s time or effort or concern,” said Richard Sheward, a director at Boston Medical Center’s Children’s HealthWatch, who has written about basic income within Massachusetts. “It would be a major failure if we focused on this one thing and lose sight of the fact that we also need to protect our safety net programs, like SNAP and WIC and other programs that help families thrive and move up the economic ladder, as they are being dismantled.”
Massachusetts has been a leader in piloting cash programs. Since 2020, more than two dozen cash transfer programs targeting low-income families have been launched in the state.
Unlike “Baby’s First Years,” these programs focus not on whether the cash transfers impact childhood development markers, but whether they allow families, particularly low-income families, to weather economic storms, spend more on healthy food, and spend more time together, especially during a child’s crucial early years.
Early results of the “Baby’s First Years” study were promising, showing increased brain activity associated with thinking and learning in the infants of moms who received more cash. That made the results four years later, showing no impact on developmental milestones, surprising. The new results also came on the heels of years of growing research showing that cash transfers can support markers of childhood development, such as reduced family stress, increased time in school, and parents buying healthier food.