As Baltimore opens enrollment for $1,000 monthly payments to young parents, applicants say the need is real

This week, Wright was one of the first applicants to Baltimore’s guaranteed income pilot program, which promises $1,000-a-month payments for two years to a group of the city’s young parents. Dubbed the Baltimore Young Families Success Fund, the program is open specifically to young parents, ages 18 to 24, who have income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level — about $69,000 for a three-person household….

…[Mayor Brandon]Scott and the city’s partners on the program, which include the CASH Campaign of Maryland, point to the distribution of $400 prepaid debit cards to 15,000 families during the coronavirus pandemic as evidence that families will spend the funds wisely. Open Society Institute-Baltimore administered that city-funded program, which offered one-time payments.