In July 2025, Economic Security Project issued the following LinkedIn statement regarding Baby’s First Years’ randomized control trial, which provided families with monthly cash transfers.

You may have seen the latest reports about a cash study called Baby’s First Years that suggests cash doesn’t impact a child’s development. These headlines miss some critical context, which tells a more complex story about what we know about direct cash. While among the most rigorous, the Baby’s First Years pilot is one of over 160 pilots that have run over the last decade across the country, reaching diverse populations and providing various proof points of the potential of cash to stabilize and support families. This study also sits alongside years of robust research on the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit that shows direct cash payments can provide resilience and even change the trajectory of a family’s life.

A few reflections as we review the research:

A key early learning from the pilots was that cash needs to be given in sums significant enough to allow families to withstand unexpected economic headwinds and volatility. In Baby’s First Years, each family was given $333 monthly, per family. Many researchers and practitioners in the field believe this amount is too low to achieve a significant impact in this crucial period. Many of the pilots focused on early years now provide significantly higher amounts.

As noted in the reporting, the study was primarily conducted during COVID and then during historic inflation, which dramatically ate away at the funds participants received. It kept participants afloat, but it didn’t boost the indicators of child well-being that the study measured. Some of the researchers involved in the study posit that the pandemic, which included large government aid programs and rising costs for the most important essentials for families like food, baby formula and diapers, potentially diluted the impact of the stipends. A global pandemic wreaking havoc on the economy and creating shockwaves across every economic indicator can’t be ignored in assessing the research outcomes.

All new research is additive to the field, and while Baby’s First Years’ findings nuance what we know about cash interventions, our hope is that the discourse around the report will make future cash models stronger. The design of policy matters. Rather than nullify cash interventions as a whole, programs that aren’t seemingly as effective can teach us essential lessons, like in this case, that the amount may need to be higher to impact the outcomes of moms and children in these early years. At Economic Security Project, we believe cash can be a powerful tool for families at critical moments, and it is not a cure all. It must sit alongside other efforts to fix broken systems that keep millions from achieving economic dignity and freedom.

For additional information, check out our recent report, The Resilience Factor, summarizing research on cash and health and an overview of the data we released last year: