As of May 2025, we successfully completed our enrollment of 850 participants into the program! Below describes our application and enrollment process.
ABP participants must:
The Abundance Drawing is the automated system that randomly selected participants from confirmed eligible applicants, who were then invited to enroll in the Abundant Birth Project. Eligible applicants were randomly selected twice a month to become ABP participants.
We believe all pregnant people deserve to have healthy, abundant births.
Providing direct, unconditional cash aid gives mothers and pregnant people the power and the dignity to make decisions for themselves and their babies. A study in Manitoba, Canada, found that an unconditional income supplement provided during pregnancy produced a 17.5% decrease in preterm birth and 21% decrease in low birth weight.
We provide participants with a debit card that is reloaded every month. This can be a virtual or physical card.
After you receive your virtual or physical debit card, the funds are automatically loaded on the 30th of each month throughout the program.
Participants can use the money to help themselves and their family in whatever ways they need to. We trust participants to know what is best for their family.
We trust mamas and birthing parents to know how best to take care of themselves and their growing families.
Participants don’t have to do anything to receive the income supplement. They can choose how best to spend this money to meet their needs. There are no lengthy forms, or classes to attend. Participants do not need to explain how or why they are using the money.
The cash we provide is a gift from ABP which means you don’t need to do anything to earn this money and there are no strings attached. We do not require you to do anything after being selected to participate in the program to receive the gift.
The monthly amount depends on the county you live in:
It depends on the benefits you are receiving. We have worked hard to protect participants’ benefits from being impacted. If you are selected for the program, we will provide you with benefits counseling to discuss what benefits might be affected.
The ABP Evaluation research will help us understand how receiving the income stipends impacts mental health, finances, and the health of the moms, birthing people, and babies.
If our research shows that ABP improves health, we can use this evidence to secure long-lasting funding for ABP. Our goal is to make the program available across California and nationally, supporting all communities in having healthy pregnancies and births.
No. The Abundant Birth Project is a no strings attached program, meaning that you do NOT have to do anything to receive the money. Participation in the evaluation is optional. There is absolutely no pressure to participate in the evaluation and the decision to do so is solely yours.
The ABP program is separate from the evaluation. The program is run by Expecting Justice. The evaluation is run by two different teams:
(1) CA ABP Evaluation: The ABP Evaluation research is being conducted by researchers from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and Oregon Health & Science University in partnership with community members from Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Francisco Counties. The surveys will be conducted by a community researcher or research assistant.
(2) State of CA/ Urban Institute: Some ABP participants will also be asked to participate in a second evaluation being conducted by the State of California and the Urban Institute.
If you are eligible to participate in either, we will reach out to explain the requirements of the different evaluations.
The CA ABP Evaluation research team works closely with the program team and community members to hold ourselves accountable to implementing our values within our research practices.
We believe in transparency, informed consent and justice and bring these principles to our evaluation. The evaluation is completely voluntary and will not affect your eligibility for the income supplement. Through the evaluation findings, we hope to uplift the lived experiences of mamas and birthing people.
Evaluation participants are asked to complete 4 surveys during their pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Some participants will be invited to complete 2 interviews in addition to the surveys.
No. If you join the evaluation you can stop at any time if you aren’t interested in participating anymore.
No. The research team will reach out to tell you more about what the research involves, how you’ll be compensated for your time, and answer any questions you have. You can decide whether you want to participate. Please take as much time as you need to think it over and discuss with your family.
Please contact research@abundantbirthproject.org.