The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) is launching the TAYportunity Guaranteed Income (GI) Program. The program will provide 300 randomly selected eligible General Relief Opportunities for Work (GROW) Transitional Age Youth (TAY) ages 18-24 years old, with $1,000 in guaranteed income per month for three years with no strings attached!
The guaranteed income will help cover unexpected expenses and enable recipients to pursue full-time employment without having to worry about short-term financial pressures and will provide support towards a path to self-sufficiency. The TAYportunity GI Program participants will receive:
The TAYportunity Guaranteed Income Program is a research project that will study the impact of monthly guaranteed income on TAY GI recipients continuing their education, seeking employment opportunities, and their mental and physical health and well-being.
Closed Captioning (subtitles) in multiple languages, can be enabled by using the CC icon. Select your preferred language using the GEAR icon.
Who is eligible to apply?
To be eligible, you must meet all of the requirements below:
To apply for this program:
DPSS will be collaborating with a reseacher to oversee the research and study of the GI Project for selected GI recipients. From the pool of eligible applicants, the researcher will randomly select 300 applicants to receive the monthly guaranteed income and be a part of the treatment group and an additional 650 to be part of the study’s control group.
Control group participants will not receive the monthly payment. The treatment and control groups will have the opportunity to complete periodic surveys and interviews about their well-being. The information will be used to help determine whether or not the program was effective. There will be gift cards for participation in the survey and interview process. The information collected will be kept confidential and will only be used for research purposes.
Benefits counseling services will be available for selected applicants to help them decide if they want to receive the monthly guaranteed income. A benefits counselor will provide an overview of the impact the monthly payment may have on public assistance benefits you may be receiving.
TAYportunity is a special employment program for TAYs that were selected for the TAYportunity Guaranteed Income Program who are looking for work. The purpose of TAYportunity is to help you explore new career opportunities in the areas of employment, apprenticeship training or entrepreneurship and offers access to career readiness training and motivational training courses.
How will I know if I’ve been selected as a participant?
A TAYportunity Liaison will contact selected participants using the contact information provided on the application. It is highly encouraged that you provide current and accurate contact information.
Will I hear from someone if I wasn’t chosen?
An email will be sent to those applicants who are not selected to participate. Additionally, DPSS will update this webpage once all notifications have been completed.
Who will I engage with if I am selected to participate?
A GROW TAYportunity Liaison will contact you if you are selected to participate.
What is a “treatment” and “control” group? What are the benefits of participating?
Those selected to receive the monthly guaranteed income will be contacted by the researcher to participate in the treatment group. The participants in this group will have the opportunity to complete interviews and surveys which will assist the researcher in evaluating the impact of GI on their day-to-day lives.
The researcher will also reach out to an additional 650 randomly selected applicants, who will not receive the guaranteed income, to take part in the study in the control group. These participants will also have the opportunity to take part in interviews and surveys about their well-being. The information from the control group surveys will be compared to the treatment group’s responses and will help with determining whether or not the program was effective.
Participation in the interviews and surveys is voluntary but highly encouraged. Research study participants will receive gift cards for each survey or interview completed, not including the application survey.
If selected, how will I receive my Guaranteed Income allotments?
GI payments will be issued via their Electronic Benefits Transfer card (EBT) without interruption for the 36-month duration.
Will my public benefits be affected by participating?
Your GR benefits will not be affected. However, some benefits outside of GR may be affected while others will not be affected at all. Before accepting to receive the monthly GI, those selected will have an opportunity to talk to a benefits counselor to learn how the monthly GI could impact other benefits.
What if my GR application is in a pending status, do I qualify?
No, you do not qualify. You must be approved for GR and be a GROW participant.
What if I receive GR but I am currently unemployed and not participating in GROW? Do I qualify?
No, you do not qualify. You must be an active GROW participant.
What if I was recently approved for GR and am awaiting my appointment with my GROW case manager? Can I apply?
Yes, you can apply but for your application to be considered you must be an active GROW participant by June 10 when the application review will be complete.
What if I am 24, but will turn 25 in June, do I qualify?
Yes, as long as you are 24 at the time of submitting the application.
What should I do if my information changes?
If your contact information changes, please e-mail us at: GuaranteedIncome@dpss.lacounty.gov with TAYportunity GI question in the subject line, and “ONLY” your name and telephone number in the body. We will contact you. DPSS will authenticate you and will not respond to e-mails that contain more than your name and phone number.
