George Mason sociologists advance families’ economic mobility through Fairfax County pilot program

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An innovative partnership between George Mason University, Fairfax County, and the United Way is shedding light on how guaranteed income can support working families facing economic hardship. 

Throughout the county's 18-month Economic Mobility Pilot Program, George Mason researchers Amy Best and Eliz Storelli investigated how unrestricted cash payments, when combined with organizational resources from local and state government and community nonprofits, affect the financial mobility of the county's asset-limited, income-constrained, employed (ALICE) population, which represent a third of Fairfax County residents, according to the United Way.

ALICE are essential workers-teachers, medical assistants, postal office staff, Lyft, Uber, and bus drivers-that drive the local economy but have wages that are too low to make ends meet living in the county. For the Fairfax County Economic Mobility Pilot, 180 households were randomly selected from a pool of 2,400 eligible applicants from across 10 zip codes in the county with greater economic vulnerability. This guaranteed income pilot is among more than 150 municipal unrestricted cash pilots across the United States since 2020.

Eliz Storelli (left) presenting the results of the pilot program. Photo provided.

"The county hopes to use the pilot intervention as an opportunity to engage in systems-level change, improve service delivery, support programming, and policy design to better promote economic mobility and prosperity among Fairfax residents," said Best, professor of sociology and director for George Mason's Center for Social Science Research. 

After 20 months of data collection and analysis, the research team submitted four major reports to Fairfax County. They have presented research findings to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax County Human Services Council, as well as at the 2026 Eastern Sociological Society conference. 

The results were clear: Unrestricted cash payments had a profound stabilizing effect, and in some cases boosted financial mobility for participating ALICE families.

Nearly 42% of participants reported they improved their credit scores, and many used the funds to pay down debts, earn credentials, and move closer to degree completion and better job prospects. The pilot provided participants with the "gift of time" enabling pilot participants to strengthen connections with family and community.

Best and Storelli served as co-principal investigators on the pilot program, which reflects the Center for Social Science Research's strong commitment to community-partnered scholarship.

Funding was provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a legislative proposal introduced by the Biden-Harris administration in 2021, and the Human Services Innovation Fund. Each household received a guaranteed monthly income of $750 for the duration of the pilot, in addition to their regular earned income.

"This program differs from other kinds of policy interventions because the unrestricted cash was distributed with a trust and invest philosophy, which is a policy philosophy that assumes that people are the experts in their own lives," Best said. These families know what they need, so we don't have restrictions on how the money is spent." 

The research team also worked closely with a community advisory board to ensure fidelity to the community and benefit from community expertise in research design, collection, and analysis.

That trust proved meaningful. Through three waves of surveys, three rounds of interviews, and 10 focus groups, the team documented both immediate economic relief, and broader changes in well-being and opportunity among the participants.

Emma Vetter Taylor. Photo provided.

For lead graduate researcher, Emma Vetter Taylor, PhD Sociology '26, the human impact became clear after speaking with participants.

"During the interviews, parents told me about how they bought things like bunk beds and Christmas trees for the first time. It was really meaningful for them and their kids. As a sociologist, seeing their stress levels decrease from the first to the second interview and hearing about the positive impacts it had on their lives was really inspiring," Taylor said.

"Being part of the mobility project was truly the highlight of my experience at George Mason," she added. "It was invaluable learning from two really impressive researchers like Amy and Eliz, but then also having the opportunity to be able to conduct research myself."

Fairfax County's government works closely with community partners. Storelli, affiliate faculty at the center, Department of Sociology and Anthropology associate professor and undergraduate director, emphasized that these partnerships were essential because economic hardship does not exist in isolation, but is shaped by systems, structures, and long-standing inequalities.

"We have to look at what holds these financial problems in place," Storelli said. "The government has made investments in people in the past and they can do it again in a way that is more inclusive so that everybody can take advantage of these community resources."

For Best, Storelli, and their student team, the pilot shows that when local government and its community partners invest in people, the results can extend far beyond finances, building greater community trust, connection, and belonging. They can improve stability, reduce stress, strengthen well-being, and help families prepare for a healthier, more secure future.

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