Baby’s First Years: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in the U.S

Childhood economic disadvantage is associated with lower cognitive and social-emotional skills, reduced educational attainment, and lower earnings in adulthood. Despite these robust correlations, it is unclear whether family income is the cause of differences observed between children growing up in poverty and their more fortunate peers, or whether these differences are merely due to the many other aspects of family life that co-occur with poverty. Baby’s First Years (BFY) is the first randomized controlled trial in the U.S. designed to identify the causal impact of poverty reduction on children’s early development. One thousand low-income mothers of newborns were enrolled in the study, and began receiving an early childhood monthly unconditional cash gift. Mothers were randomized to receive either a large monthly cash gift or a nominal monthly cash gift. All monthly gifts are administered via debit card, and may be freely spent with no restrictions. BFY aims to answer whether poverty reduction in early childhood (1) improves children’s developmental outcomes and brain functioning, and (2) improves family functioning and better enable parents to support child development. Here we present the rationale and design of the study, as well as potential implications for science and policy. The Baby’s First Years study is the first randomized controlled trial designed to identify the causal impact of poverty reduction on early childhood development.