The Impact of an Unconditional Cash Transfer during Homelessness: Experimental Evidence from Illinois

Last registered on February 27, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Impact of an Unconditional Cash Transfer during Homelessness: Experimental Evidence from Illinois
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012793
Initial registration date
January 14, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 19, 2024, 2:02 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
February 27, 2026, 3:20 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
John Eric Humphries
Affiliation
Yale University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Nour Adbul-Razzak
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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PI Name
Stephen Stapleton
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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PI Name
Winnie van Dijk
PI Affiliation
Yale University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-05-03
End date
2027-07-01
Keywords
Other
Additional Keywords
Housing, Homelessness
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project aims to study the impact of a large one-time cash transfer to families with children who are accessing emergency homeless services. The project will evaluate how such a cash transfer impacts future homelessness and other indicators of housing stability. We also plan to study how the assistance affects recipients' self-reported well-being and mental health, labor market participation, use of other government programs, criminal justice contact, and children's educational outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Adbul-Razzak, Nour et al. 2026. "The Impact of an Unconditional Cash Transfer during Homelessness: Experimental Evidence from Illinois." AEA RCT Registry. February 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12793-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This project aims to study the impact of a large one-time unconditional cash transfer to families with children who are accessing emergency homeless services. The project will evaluate how such a cash transfer impacts future homelessness and other indicators of housing stability. We also plan to study how the assistance affects recipients' self-reported well-being and mental health, labor market participation, use of other government programs, criminal justice contact, and children's educational outcomes.
Intervention Start Date
2023-05-26
Intervention End Date
2024-07-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Please see our uploaded analysis plan for a complete layout of our pre-analysis plan
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Please see our attached analysis plan for a complete layout of our pre-analysis plan
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study recruits participants who are accessing emergency housing services with children in Illinois. The study will randomly provide one-time unconditional cash transfers to families with children in emergency housing services (e.g. shelter, transitional housing, or street outreach). Randomization will be done at the Continuum of Care (CoC) level. Participants' outcomes will be studied via follow-up surveys and administrative data linkages.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The sample is stratified within CoC and randomization occurred within CoC.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 500 household heads in round 1, and approximately 430 household heads in round 2. Roughly 2,000 dependents are expected to be enrolled in the study across both rounds.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Round 1: 297 household heads in treatment (original target 300), 198 household heads in control (target 200).

Round 2: 215 household heads in treatment, 215 household heads in control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Please see our uploaded analysis plan for a complete layout of our pre-analysis plan
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Chicago Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2023-04-17
IRB Approval Number
IRB23-0562
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

SIFH Full Analysis Plan

MD5: 48c00a76e6cfd98256b3aced7c2afa7a

SHA1: 0f8ec9315a614df7c83348b72f28ad7accaf88d9

Uploaded At: January 14, 2024