By Danny Tow
(WBFF) — Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced the launch of a Guaranteed Basic Income program alongside the Community Action Council of Howard County (CAC).
The program will see 20 families receive monthly economic assistance, wrap-around services, and programming sessions with community partners, according to a release.
The families – who will each receive $1,000 per month for a year to put towards household needs – were selected only after meeting certain eligibility requirements, including:
- Being Howard County residents;
- Having at least one child in the household below the age of 18;
- A current client of CAC’s programming, i.e.;
- A child in the household was enrolled in CAC’s Early Children Education program during the 2024-25 school year;
- Received Energy and/or Housing Assistance from CAC in the past year;
- Energy and/or Housing Assistance may have been denied if household income exceeded program limits;
- Not currently on an income-based housing voucher or housing subsidy; and
- Having a reported household income between 150-300% of Fiscal Year 2025 Federal Poverty Limits based on household size.
“GBI pilot programs have been in place for almost a decade across our nation and implemented most recently by our neighboring jurisdictions,” Ball said. “These impactful programs have demonstrated long-term positive impacts not only on families’ economic stability but also on their emotional availability as parents. Howard County’s GBI pilot program aims to diminish and uplift families out of poverty, better their lives, and enable them to be more self-sufficient. Through data collection and key outcome measures, this pilot program will inform future County strategies to promote economic mobility and self-sufficiency.”
The release cited studies that showed positive benefits related to guaranteed basic income programs, including “reduced financial volatility and increased capacity to pay for core expenses such as food, rent, and transportation, while planning for the future.”
CAC initially identified 292 potential participants earlier in 2025, but narrowed that list down to 20 via the aforementioned eligibility requirements, as well as a partial lottery and other factors. CAC also chose not to include families that would lose eligibility for other benefits (such as housing vouchers) by participating in the program.
The GBI program will be funded via a $750,000 grant included in Howard County’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget, according to the release. The first phase of the program will cost roughly a third of that, and the program’s outcomes will inform future practices.
The program’s participants will be surveyed quarterly throughout the year, as well as at the end of the year, to help inform takeaways from the pilot. Those surveys will include topics such as:
- Quality of life
- Physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing
- Income
- Paid and unpaid work
- Childcare arrangements
- How they spent time as a family
- Access to healthcare
- Any improvements to life resulting from the additional funds
“This pilot recognizes something that we at CAC see every day, that families are working hard but still struggling to make ends meet. By providing unrestricted support, we are not just easing financial burdens, we are giving families the breathing room to plan, to grow, and to pursue stability on their own terms. It’s a powerful investment in dignity and possibility,” said Tracy Broccolino, President of the Community Action Council of Howard County.
The 20 families participating in the program live in Columbia, Elkridge, Laurel, or Savage, and include between two and five people. Per the eligibility requirements, all of the families have children, with ages ranging from infants to 17-year-olds. The families are not required to participate in the additional programming and support services provided by CAC through the program, but all will retain access regardless of participation level.
This post was originally published on Basic Income Today.