CAASNM, FYI+, and Jardin de los Niños partnered to create a cash support demonstration program called Family Prosperity. The program will provide $500 over 18 months—no strings attached–to 150 randomly selected Las Cruces families. Eligibility will be based on income, single-caregiver family that has at least one child under the age of 16 living in the home, and that the home is located within the City of Las Cruces. Special emphasis will be given to families living in distressed census tracks; however, all residents who meet the eligibility criteria have an opportunity to be selected. An outside partner randomly selects 150 prequalified families who will receive $500 a month for 18 months.
In 2022, a small Family Prosperity Program was launched in Hatch, NM, with support from the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico and CSBG. Currently, 12 families are in the active group (receive $500 a month), and 12 families are in the comparison group (receive $25-$50 per survey). The families are sharing amazing success stories!
Hatch participant, Bertha said “This help I have been getting has helped me so much, at first I was not earning enough money at my job to keep up with my bills and rent. Then I lost my job, my kids and I would be homeless without the help. I want to thank everyone involved with this program.”
Hatch mom, Vanessa, could only find part-time work in the small community and was barely able to provide for basic needs for her and her small son. She used her Family Prosperity cash support to create and open a business.
Thanks to the City of Las Cruces, we received $1.7 million of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 money to expand and launch the program to people living in Las Cruces on July 19, 2023.
Family Prosperity/Cash Support
Las Cruces Phase
(applications now closed)
Selected families are single caregivers with a child in the home who is under 16. Household income and living in Las Cruces were also taken into consideration for determining eligibility. Priority was given to randomly selected residents in zip codes 88001, 88005 and 88007 in the City’s economic investment zone.
The program will be evaluated in partnership with New Mexico State University’s Crimson Research. Chosen individuals in the active group as well as the comparison group will complete regular surveys and questionnaires to aid in evaluation. The goal is to evaluate how unrestricted cash support affects quality-of-life, education, employment, childcare, and physical and mental health.
Research has shown that when people are given unrestricted cash payments, recipients are able to pull themselves out of poverty, plan for the future, and create stability for themselves and their families (Economic Security Project, 2019). Family Prosperity will give recipients more freedom, dignity and self-determination to make choices for their financial well-being.
CAASNM is grateful for major support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico for the study conducted in Hatch. Further funding for the large-scale project was provided by the City of Las Cruces ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act 2021) funding.
