photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Several people gathered for a "data walk" hosted by hosted by LiveWell Douglas County and the Douglas County Community Foundation on Friday, November 15, 2024.

Douglas County plans to keep developing its ideas for a potential guaranteed income pilot program for low-income single mothers, despite a new Kansas law that bars cities and counties from establishing such programs with taxpayer funds.

A guaranteed income program for single mothers has been on county leaders’ minds for some time. But in its 2025 session, the Kansas Legislature passed House Bill 2101, which now prohibits any city or county from using tax dollars to fund such programs unless the Legislature gives its prior approval.

Now, the county appears to be taking a more concrete step toward developing the guaranteed income program idea. At its meeting on Wednesday, the County Commission is scheduled to consider a subgrant agreement with the International City/County Management Association for what’s called the “Economic Mobility Community of Practice.”

In a memo to the commission, Assistant County Administrator Jill Jolicoeur said that Douglas County would be one of “15 local governments working as a peer learning cohort to enhance economic mobility in their respective communities.” The grant funding — up to $24,000 — would be used “to participate in required cohort trainings and meetings and advance one of the projects identified as a viable economic mobility strategy” as part of the program.

To apply for the program, Jolicoeur said, the county had to specify a challenge involving economic mobility in the community and propose an idea to address it. The county “identified the challenge of economic instability in single, female-headed households, with a proposed idea to implement a guaranteed income pilot program and early childhood education scholarships,” Jolicoeur’s memo read.

A county spokesperson confirmed to the Journal-World via email that the program would in fact be helping Douglas County develop the guaranteed income program idea.

“The program will help the community further develop and advance the strategy in the Community Health Improvement Plan to implement a pilot guaranteed income program within the five-year plan (2025-2029),” the spokesperson told the Journal-World.

The spokesperson told the Journal-World in an email that being a part of the cohort and grant program would give the county access to coaching, subject matter expertise and evidence-based tools for developing this idea.

The county spokesperson also said that the county does not foresee using taxpayer funding for any guaranteed income pilot program.

The idea of a guaranteed income program in Douglas County has received some grant funding before. The United Way of Kaw Valley received a $10,000 grant in 2024 for some initial outreach and feedback efforts, including a series of so-called “data walks” and screenings of the documentary “It’s Basic,” which looks at pilot programs in other communities that have tested the effects of giving people an extra $500 to $1,000 a month with no strings attached.