The recent New York Times article about the Baby’s First Years (BFY) study followed low-income families who received either $333 or $20 a month, starting from when their babies were born. The article says researchers did not find major changes in children’s brain development by age four.
But here’s the thing: That headline doesn’t tell the whole story. Not even close.
At LIFT, we believe that parents know what is best for their families. Since 1998, LIFT has proudly partnered with over 100,000 families on their paths out of poverty, and we have distributed over $1 million in cash since we established the Family Goal Fund. We’ve seen firsthand how cash can be a powerful tool for stability and long-term success.
What We Know About Cash: From Research and From Lived Experience
This one study shouldn’t erase the mountain of evidence showing that cash, when done right, works:
- The expanded Child Tax Credit cut child poverty in half in just one year, in the middle of a global pandemic.
- The Earned Income Tax Credit has improved outcomes for families for decades.
- Guaranteed income pilots in places like Los Angeles, CA and Jackson, MS show increases in mental health, housing stability, and employment.
And we have heard from families, repeatedly, that even small sums of cash (like the $150 in unrestricted funds provided to LIFT members quarterly via the Family Goal Fund) significantly reduce financial stress. LIFT data show that families overwhelmingly spend cash on basic needs and investments in their families’ futures. We’ve seen what can happen when families have the space to dream, plan, and act on their goals, when they’re treated with dignity, not conditions.
We also know that cash alone isn’t always enough: no single intervention is. That’s why LIFT combines financial support and economic mobility coaching that emphasizes families’ goals and dreams. We don’t just give families a boost, we partner with them to remove barriers in their way and help them build lasting economic mobility. We do this through direct work with parents in our economic mobility coaching and entrepreneurship programs, and by training other organizations that reach families to integrate LIFT’s coaching model via Technical Assistance partnerships.
The BFY Study, In Context
The study focused on EEG scans of resting brain activity in children, overlooking more practical indicators of family wellbeing, like stable housing, reduced stress, and parental engagement. These are the real drivers of early childhood development and the kinds of changes we consistently see when families have the support they need. Additionally, the study unfolded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 70% of participants experienced major disruptions, making it difficult to isolate the impact of the cash support.
With two years left in this six-year study, it’s premature to dismiss potential benefits that may take longer to emerge. Instead of closing the door, we should be asking better questions and giving these programs the time they need for outcomes to bear out.
Media Coverage Can Be Misleading
The New York Times article does explain the basic findings of the study without sensationalizing. But by leading with “no effect on child development,” it unintentionally plays into a common misunderstanding: that if cash doesn’t immediately change a child’s brain, it’s not worth it. The article doesn’t elevate the large body of evidence that shows how impactful cash can be for both parents and their children, on poverty and health outcomes. This messaging is harmful to families and sets back program and policy efforts, in a climate that often implies that families don’t deserve support.
That mindset ignores everything we know about how families grow and thrive. Change doesn’t always look like a sharp turn.
Families Know What they Need: What We Can Do
At LIFT, we support parents with holistic coaching, cash support, and access to resources so they can meet their goals, whether that’s going back to school, getting a new job, or building savings. We walk alongside parents as they navigate a system that’s been built to keep them stuck.
We need to invest in policies that address the root causes of poverty that stymie a family’s ability to achieve economic mobility. Families know what they need, and they are too often left out of the conversation about their own lives and well-being. LIFT is envisioning a new reality: how do we better center families in poverty as part of creating systems-level solutions?
LIFT’s Strategic Plan lays the foundation for a bold, family-centered vision of economic mobility. Immediate and transformative change begins at the local and state levels. LIFT Policy & Advocacy fights for policies that impact families by positioning their voices at the center of our advocacy. As decided by LIFT families, we are advocating within our four regions – Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and New York – for increased cash, access to basic needs, and broader access to equitable social service systems.
Cash is one of the clearest, most direct ways to support families who are doing everything they can with too little. LIFT knows that families already have what it takes to set themselves on a path toward prosperity. They just need access to the right tools and resources. Let’s not let one study or misleading headline distract us from what we already know: When we trust families and invest in them, they thrive.
Elena Pinzon O’Quinn, Senior Director of Learning & Evaluation
Khadijah Williams, Director of Policy & Advocacy
If you have any questions or comments about this article, or LIFT’s Policy & Advocacy work, please contact Khadijah Williams at KWilliams@WhyWeLIFT.org.