The challenge
Many undocumented, homeless and low-income residents lacked ID to use city services or deal with police.
The case
New York City launched IDNYC in January 2015, the largest municipal ID program in the United States. It was open to every resident whatever their immigration status and was promoted with free memberships at cultural institutions to attract broad uptake. An independent evaluation by Westat and Metis Associates covered January 2015 to June 2016, drawing on survey responses from more than 77,000 cardholders, 39 focus groups and administrative data. By June 2016 there were 863,464 cardholders, and more than half used it as their main ID. Among immigrant respondents, 77% said the card increased their sense of belonging in the city. Among respondents who had concerns about encounters with police, 59% said the card made them feel more confident about such encounters.
Why it worked
Making the ID universal and attractive to everyone, not just immigrants, avoided stigma and drove huge uptake. The evidence comes from a self-selected cardholder survey, not a comparison group.
Sources
- Westat & Metis Associates (2016). IDNYC Program Evaluation. City of New York.
- City of New York (2016). First comprehensive independent evaluation of nation's largest municipal ID program.
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