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Research Partnership

Bay Area Thriving Families research design

Overview

Bay Area Thriving Families is a partnership between the Housing Solutions Lab and two San Francisco-based providers of rapid rehousing services, Compass Family Services and Hamilton Families. Through this study, also known as the evaluation arm of the It All Adds Up pilot, we will test whether unconditional cash payments to families leaving rapid rehousing programs can help them achieve long-term housing stability. 

Study design

Bay Area Thriving Families uses a randomized control trial methodology to evaluate the effects of cash transfers. In the study, we will enroll 450 families with children from rapid rehousing programs managed by Compass, Hamilton, or other referring agencies in the Bay Area: Families in Transition, Bill Wilson Center, and Catholic Charities of San Francisco. Families that agree to participate will be randomly selected to either receive $50 or $1,000 per month for 12 months. Participants have no rules, limitations, or expectations for using these funds, and are not required to report how or when they use them. 

We will employ a combination of administrative data and surveys to assess the effect of the cash payments on housing stability, returns to homelessness, and rent burdens in the two years following exit from rapid rehousing. Survey data will also shed light on the effect of the payments on employment, investment in education or training, income, savings, debt, food security, health, and psychological well-being. 

In collaboration with the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley, we are also conducting qualitative interviews with study participants. We hope to better understand families’ experience with the pilot, as well as their housing and spending decisions and whether cash transfers remove barriers to maintaining stable housing. The qualitative study will help contextualize the study’s quantitative results and generate insights to inform the design of future programs.

Research contributions

Thriving Families explores whether the “benefits cliff” many families experience when leaving a housing subsidy program can be eased with basic income support. Modest cash payments that start when rental subsidies end may provide a soft landing for families exiting rapid rehousing, enabling them to achieve longer-term housing stability. More specifically, this study aims to answer the following questions:

  • What is the effect of the cash transfers on returns to homelessness, housing stability, and rent burden after the cash transfers end? 
  • Do the effects of the cash transfers persist over time? 
  • What are the mechanisms through which cash transfers affect housing outcomes? 
  • What is the effect of cash transfers on the well-being of families? 

Policy implementation contributions

Finally, the Bay Area Thriving Families team will develop best practices and recommendations for designing and implementing cash transfer programs to improve housing stability. Compass Family Services and Hamilton Families have been integral partners in the study’s design and implementation, and will continue to play a vital role in the study. Together, the team will develop guidance for homeless service providers or policymakers who are interested in implementing cash transfer programs in the future.