DCo Thrives

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is DCo Thrives and how is it funded?

  DCo Thrives is a guaranteed income pilot program that will distribute no-strings attached funds to 125 families for 12 months. In August 2023, the Durham County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) unanimously approved $1.69 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the DCo Thrives guaranteed income pilot program. DCo Thrives has a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) design so that the impact of guaranteed income payments can be studied. 

• What is guaranteed income?

  Guaranteed income is a recurring payment provided with no strings attached. This means that participants have the freedom to choose how they spend the money. A guaranteed income is meant to supplement, rather than replace, the existing social safety net.

• Why has the county decided to undertake a guaranteed income pilot program?

  The recommendation for a Guaranteed Income pilot to support Durham’s children and their families first arose in the local Early Childhood Action Plan (ECAP) – Grown in Durham. The recommendation for Guaranteed Income fell under the ECAP’s focus area of basic needs, and it is one strategy to help meet Recommendation 8 Economic Prosperity: To ensure families with young children have economic security and opportunities for long-term economic prosperity. DCo Thrives, Durham’s Guaranteed Income pilot, currently partners across departments with our Early Childhood Coordinator to have a compensated advisory board made of grass root community leaders with lived experience. DCo Thrives is prioritizing community leadership in pilot design, implementation, and future efforts to address family economic security in Durham.

  Additionally, the DCo Thrives pilot program involves an evaluation component that aims to determine the effectiveness of guaranteed income in improving well-being for children and families in Durham. By not restricting how participants can use the guaranteed income, we express our confidence that Durham families are the experts on their own lives and, as such, are the best ones to determine how to use the money to support their family. We want every child and family in Durham County to thrive. 

  Other guaranteed income programs throughout the US have shown increased positive brain activity in babies, increased likelihood of time spent doing enriching activities with children, decreased stress, and improved employment outcomes.

  According to 2021 Census data, 8.7% of Durham families were living in poverty. Of all Durham families living in poverty, the greatest proportion were living in single family households, with 5.7% being in single female households and .08% living single male households. By implementing a guaranteed income program for low-income families, Durham County intends to positively impact the well-being of children and families.

• Am I eligible to apply to participate in DCo Thrives?

  If you meet ALL of the below eligibility criteria, you are eligible to apply to DCo Thrives! 

  DCo Thrives Eligibility Criteria:

  • You are 18 or older
  • You live in Durham County
  • You parent a child under the age of 18 and have at least one child under the age of 18 that lives in your household on a full-time or part-time basis
  • You have a household income before taxes at or below 30% of Area Median Income for Durham.

  The table below depicts the 30% AMI for Durham. 

  
• How will individuals be selected to participate?

  125 individuals will be randomly selected to receive the guaranteed income. Another 125 families will be randomly selected to participate in the control group, who will not receive the guaranteed income but will be invited to participate in surveys for research purposes. 

• If selected, what are the payment amounts?

  Participants will receive payments of $750 a month for 12 months.

• Does the money have to be used in a certain way?

  No. The $750 monthly payments have no strings attached. Participants can use the money however they need.

• What happens if I am selected?

  Individuals that are selected to receive the monthly payment will be contacted via email or phone within a month after the application period ends. A representative from the program will be available to answer any questions, and you will have the option to meet with a benefits counselor before deciding whether to enroll in the program or not. You can opt out at any time.

• What is a Randomized Controlled Trial, and why is DCo Thrives designed as one?

  A randomized controlled trial is a type of study that compares information between two groups, in this case the individuals that receive a monthly cash payment and those who do not. Both groups will be asked to fill out surveys and will be compensated $100 for their survey completion. Data from the DCo Thrives pilot program will be used to help understand the effectiveness of guaranteed income programs in Durham and beyond. 

• What is a participant’s role in the research?

  Surveys are conducted every month from the start of the pilot program. If you decide to participate in research, you will be asked to complete the surveys online on your own. Your answers are completely confidential, and you will be compensated for your time with $100 per completed survey.

  We will also connect state and local administrative credit, health, and education records about you and your children. Again, this information will be kept confidential and will never be released in a way that could identify you. You may also be invited to participate in an optional interview with the research team.

• How will information that I provide be used?

  Your survey responses and any administrative data will be aggregated with other peoples’ responses and information, and the data will be analyzed by researchers. 

• Can I opt out of the research?

  Yes, you can opt out of the research at any point during the study. Individuals who are selected to participate will receive information about how to opt out after they are selected.

• Who is administering DCo Thrives?

  Durham County has selected Durham Children’s Initiative to administer the DCo Thrives pilot program. Research and evaluation are being conducted by a collaborative team from Appalachian State University’s Family Economic Policy Lab and Duke University’s Office of Evaluation and Applied Research Partnership. 

• What if I have difficulty completing the DCo Thrives application?

  If you have difficulty with the DCo Thrives application, please call the DCo Thrives Application Support Call Center at (919) 560-7835. You may also call this number to ask questions about the DCo Thrives program and application. The DCo Thrives Call Center will operate from 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. on from January 21, 2025 to February 9, 2025.

• What documents are needed to complete the DCo Thrives application?

  No documents are needed to complete the DCo Thrives Application. After completing the application, if you are randomly selected as a potential participant, DCI will reach out to you about the program and will have you bring in documents to verify your eligibility.

• What documents will be needed to verify eligibility?

  You will only be asked to provide documents to verify your eligibility if you are randomly selected to potentially participate in DCo Thrives after completing the application. We have tried to keep this documentation as simple as possible. We understand that pulling documents together can be stressful and that some people may not have the documents that are often needed for these kinds of programs. 

  With that in mind, we have tried to keep the process simple. In most cases, only one document is needed for each area of eligibility below. The list below is meant to give many options to people when verifying their eligibility so that the experience is less stressful. If you are randomly selected as a potential participant in DCo Thrives, DCI will work with you one-on-one to pull eligibility verification documents together.

  Acceptable documents to verify your eligibility are listed in the chart below. Please keep in mind, in most cases, only one document is needed to verify each eligibility criteria.