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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Statewide Child Development Account Policies: Key Design Elements, Margaret M. Clancy, Sondra G. Beverly Aug 2017

Statewide Child Development Account Policies: Key Design Elements, Margaret M. Clancy, Sondra G. Beverly

Center for Social Development Research

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) aim to build assets for postsecondary education. Unlike many asset-building programs, CDAs were explicitly conceived to be universal (every child is included) and progressive (greater support for disadvantaged children). Four states have created statewide CDAs—Baby Scholars in Connecticut, the Harold Alfond College Challenge in Maine, College Kick Start in Nevada, and CollegeBoundbaby in Rhode Island. In this policy report, we describe these CDAs to provide perspective and inform new initiatives. We begin by identifying 10 key CDA policy design elements originally modeled by the CDA in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment. By modeling key design …


Asset Building: Toward Inclusive Policy, Michael Sherraden, Lissa Johnson, Margaret Clancy, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret S. Sherraden, Mark Schreiner, William Elliott Iii, Trina Shanks William, Deborah Adams, Jami C. Curley, Jin Huang, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Yunju Nam, Min Zhan, Chang-Kuen Han Oct 2016

Asset Building: Toward Inclusive Policy, Michael Sherraden, Lissa Johnson, Margaret Clancy, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret S. Sherraden, Mark Schreiner, William Elliott Iii, Trina Shanks William, Deborah Adams, Jami C. Curley, Jin Huang, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Yunju Nam, Min Zhan, Chang-Kuen Han

Center for Social Development Research

This Working Paper has been submitted for inclusion in theEncyclopedia of Social Work's new online edition, which is published by Oxford University Press. Since 1991, a new policy discussion has arisen in the United States and other countries, focusing on building assets as a complement to traditional social policy based on income. In fact, asset-based policy already existed (and still exists) in the United States, with large public subsidies. But the policy is regressive, benefiting the rich far more than the poor. The goal should be a universal, progressive, and lifelong asset-based policy. One promising pathway may be Child Development …


The Volunteer Income Tax Preparer's Toolkit: Showing Clients Why Tax Time Is The Right Time To Save, Meredith Covington, Janie Oliphant, Dana Perantie, Michael Grinstein-Weiss Oct 2015

The Volunteer Income Tax Preparer's Toolkit: Showing Clients Why Tax Time Is The Right Time To Save, Meredith Covington, Janie Oliphant, Dana Perantie, Michael Grinstein-Weiss

Center for Social Development Research

The Volunteer Income Tax Preparer's Toolkit: Showing Clients Why Tax Time Is the Right Time to Save


The Seed For Oklahoma Kids Child Development Account Experiment: Accounts, Assets, Earnings, And Savings, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret M. Clancy, Jin Huang, Michael Sherraden Sep 2015

The Seed For Oklahoma Kids Child Development Account Experiment: Accounts, Assets, Earnings, And Savings, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret M. Clancy, Jin Huang, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This brief presents the latest results from SEED for Oklahoma Kids, a pathbreaking randomized experiment to test the effects of automatic, universal, and progressive Child Development Accounts (CDAs) in a statewide sample. Key features of the CDA are automatic opening of a 529 account and an automatic initial $1,000 deposit. The results show that CDAs with automatic deposits invested in a 529 plan may enable children to accumulate meaningful levels of assets over time, even if their families do not contribute to the accounts. As the brief indicates, the new results also have key implications for public policy.


Do Eitc Recipients Use Their Tax Refunds To Get Ahead? Evidence From The Refund To Savings Initiative, Mathieu R. Despard, Dana C. Parantie, Jane Oliphant, Michal Grinstein-Weiss Jul 2015

Do Eitc Recipients Use Their Tax Refunds To Get Ahead? Evidence From The Refund To Savings Initiative, Mathieu R. Despard, Dana C. Parantie, Jane Oliphant, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Center for Social Development Research

Many U.S. households lack savings for unexpected expenses and financial shocks, but tax refunds and the Earned Income Tax Credit offer opportunities to set aside resources for use in emergencies. Understanding what EITC recipients do with their tax refunds is important for guiding federal policy to promote financial stability. This brief summarizes findings on the use of tax refunds by EITC recipients in the Refund to Savings (R2S) initiative. It also examines the use of financial services for saving refunds and the financial shocks experienced by EITC recipients during the 6 months after tax filing.


Refund To Savings 2013: Comprehensive Report On A Large-Scale Tax-Time Saving Program, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Dana C. Perantie, Blair D. Russell, Krista Comer, Samuel H. Taylor, Lingzi Luo, Clinton Key, Dan Ariely Feb 2015

Refund To Savings 2013: Comprehensive Report On A Large-Scale Tax-Time Saving Program, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Dana C. Perantie, Blair D. Russell, Krista Comer, Samuel H. Taylor, Lingzi Luo, Clinton Key, Dan Ariely

Center for Social Development Research

Refund to Savings 2013: Comprehensive Report on a Large-Scale Tax-Time Saving Program


New Measures Of Economic Security And Development: Savings Goals For Short-Term And Long-Term Economic Needs, Yunju Nam, Yungsoo Lee, Shawn Mcmahon, Michael Sherraden Dec 2014

New Measures Of Economic Security And Development: Savings Goals For Short-Term And Long-Term Economic Needs, Yunju Nam, Yungsoo Lee, Shawn Mcmahon, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The long-term economic security and development of a family depend largely upon saving and asset-accumulation, yet most measures of economic well-being focus on short-term consumption needs. This study takes a broader view, developing precautionary, retirement, homeownership and education savings goals. Together these savings goals constitute a new set of asset-based measures of family financial well-being. Estimated savings needs depend upon family type and other assumptions, and we consider investment gains and differences in dollar values over time in our calculations. This study shows that families should save $155 to $572 every month to address all four savings needs. The number …


Baseline Survey Of The Third Cohort: A Supplemental Report From The Youthsave Ghana Experiment, Gina Chowa, David Ansong, Rainier Masa, Shiyou Wu, Yalitza Ramos, Meli Blake Kimathi Oct 2014

Baseline Survey Of The Third Cohort: A Supplemental Report From The Youthsave Ghana Experiment, Gina Chowa, David Ansong, Rainier Masa, Shiyou Wu, Yalitza Ramos, Meli Blake Kimathi

Center for Social Development Research

Baseline Survey of the Third Cohort: A Supplemental Report From the YouthSave Ghana Experiment


Heterogeneous Effects Of Child Development Accounts On Savings For Children's Education, Jin Huang, Youngmi Kim, Michael Sherraden, Margaret Clancy Jul 2014

Heterogeneous Effects Of Child Development Accounts On Savings For Children's Education, Jin Huang, Youngmi Kim, Michael Sherraden, Margaret Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, we use data from SEED for Oklahoma Kids (N = 2,77), a statewide policy experiment testing Child Development Accounts (CDAs), to examine effects on individual savings for children’s postsecondary education. Built on the account structure of the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan, the experiment automatically opened state-owned 529 accounts for children in the treatment group with a $1,000 initial deposit, and encouraged their caregivers to open and save in participant-owned 529 accounts. Using quantile regressions and statistical match, the study focuses on the effects of CDAs on the shape of the savings distribution among participants who hold …


Lack Of Emergency Savings Puts American Households At Risk, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Blair Russell, Brad Tucker, Krista Comer Jun 2014

Lack Of Emergency Savings Puts American Households At Risk, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Blair Russell, Brad Tucker, Krista Comer

Center for Social Development Research

Lack of Emergency Savings Puts American Households at Risk


Research Summary: Testing Universal College Savings Accounts At Birth: Early Research From Seed For Oklahoma Kids, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden Apr 2014

Research Summary: Testing Universal College Savings Accounts At Birth: Early Research From Seed For Oklahoma Kids, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

SEED for Oklahoma Kids is a large-scale policy test of automatic and progressive Child Development Accounts (CDAs), and it is the first truly universal model in the United States. The SEED OK CDA is universal in that it opens an Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan (OK 529) account on behalf of every infant in the treatment group. This report summarizes key findings and conclusions from SEED for Oklahoma Kids research. Even at this early stage, SEED OK research is informing policy and the design of college savings plans at the state level. Amore recent summary of SEED OK research is …


Automatic Deposits For All At Birth: Maine's Harold Alfond College Challenge, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden Mar 2014

Automatic Deposits For All At Birth: Maine's Harold Alfond College Challenge, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The first statewide Child Development Account (CDA) in the United States announced a major change in strategy to automatically enroll all newborns. Evidence from CDA research has contributed to the decision by the College Challenge to remove its original opt-in requirement—in which parents must enroll their newborns in the state’s 529 college savings plan to receive a $500 grant—in favor of universal enrollment—in which every child is enrolled automatically at birth with a $500 grant.


Building A Lifetime Of Economic Security: Mobilizing For Change, Center For Social Development Mar 2014

Building A Lifetime Of Economic Security: Mobilizing For Change, Center For Social Development

Center for Social Development Research

Building a Lifetime of Economic Security: Mobilizing for Change


Does Outstanding Student Debt Reduce Asset Accumulation?, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam Jan 2014

Does Outstanding Student Debt Reduce Asset Accumulation?, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, the authors use the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to assess whether student loan debt is associated with total assets. They find that median 2009 assets for households with no outstanding student loan debt ($207,000) are higher than they are for households with outstanding student loan debt ($174,000). Multivariate statistics indicate that a household with a four-year college graduate, outstanding student loan debt, and median assets ($451,520) in 2007 had $136,73 (36%) less home equity in 2009 than a household with a similar household with no outstanding student loan debt. The main policy implication of this study …


Student Debt And Declining Retirement Savings, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam Nov 2013

Student Debt And Declining Retirement Savings, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, the authors use the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to determine whether student loan debt is associated with retirement savings. They find that the median 2009 retirement savings amount for households with no outstanding student loan debt ($55,000) is nearly twice as high as it is for households with outstanding student loan debt ($25,000). Further, multivariate statistics indicate that a household with a four-year college graduate, outstanding student loan debt, and median retirement savings ($80,983) in 2007 incurred a loss of 52% of those retirement savings in 2009 contrasted with household with a similar household with no …


Is Student Debt Compromising Homeownership As A Wealth-Building Tool?, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam Nov 2013

Is Student Debt Compromising Homeownership As A Wealth-Building Tool?, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, the authors use 2007–2009 Survey of Consumer Finance longitudinal data to examine if having student loans affected home equity during the Great Recession. We find that median 2009 home equity ($90,000) for households with no outstanding student loan debt is twice as high as that of households with outstanding student loan debt ($45,000). Further, multivariate statistics reveal that a household with a college graduate, median 2007 home equity, and student loan debt had $54,334 (40%) less home equity in 2009 than a household with a college graduate, median home equity, and no college debt. The main policy …


Child Development Accounts And College Success: Accounts, Assets, Expectations, And Achievements, Sondra G. Beverly, William Elliott, Michael Sherraden Nov 2013

Child Development Accounts And College Success: Accounts, Assets, Expectations, And Achievements, Sondra G. Beverly, William Elliott, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) can contribute to financial preparation for college and the development of a college-bound identity in multiple ways and so increase the likelihood of college success. The pathways from CDAs to college success proposed in this paper are grounded in theory and evidence, but more research on the impact of CDAs is needed.


Youth Savings Patterns And Performance In Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, And Nepal, Lissa Johnson, Yungsoo Lee, Michael Sherraden, Gina A. N. Chowa, David Ansong, Fred Ssewamala, Margaret S. Sherraden, Li Zhou, Moses Njenga, Joseph Kieyah, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Sharad Sharma, Jyoti Manandhar, Catherine Orgales Rodriguez, Frederico Merchán, Juan Saavedra Oct 2013

Youth Savings Patterns And Performance In Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, And Nepal, Lissa Johnson, Yungsoo Lee, Michael Sherraden, Gina A. N. Chowa, David Ansong, Fred Ssewamala, Margaret S. Sherraden, Li Zhou, Moses Njenga, Joseph Kieyah, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Sharad Sharma, Jyoti Manandhar, Catherine Orgales Rodriguez, Frederico Merchán, Juan Saavedra

Center for Social Development Research

Youth Savings Patterns and Performance in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal


Perceived Impact Of Individual Development Account Participation Among Native Hawaiians, David W. Rothwell, Rashida Bhaiji, Anne Blumenthal May 2013

Perceived Impact Of Individual Development Account Participation Among Native Hawaiians, David W. Rothwell, Rashida Bhaiji, Anne Blumenthal

Center for Social Development Research

Indigenous peoples face many social development challenges and the lingering effects of colonization. Income transfer, a traditional social welfare approach designed to raise minimum living standards, has had limited beneficial effects on long-term social conditions. As a complement to income transfer, asset-based approaches to social welfare have resulted in positive effects in the short and long terms. Some Indigenous communities are exploring how asset-based interventions might enhance social development (Hicks, Edwards, Dennis, & Finsel, 2005), but only limited and scattered research describes how they experience asset-building programs. This qualitative descriptive study explores the perceived impact of a large Individual Development …


Small-Dollar Children's Savings Accounts, Income, And College Outcomes, William Elliott, Hyun-A Song, Ilsung Nam Feb 2013

Small-Dollar Children's Savings Accounts, Income, And College Outcomes, William Elliott, Hyun-A Song, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this paper, we examine the relationship between children’s small-dollar savings accounts and college enrollment and graduation by asking three important research questions: (a) are children with savings of their own more likely to attend or graduate from college, (b) does dosage (having no account; having basic savings only; or having savings designated for school of less than $1, $1 to $499, or $500 or more) matter, and (c) is designating savings for school more predictive than having basic savings alone? We use propensity score weighted data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its supplements to create …


Reducing Student Loan Debt Through Parents’ College Savings, William Elliott, Ilsung Nam Feb 2013

Reducing Student Loan Debt Through Parents’ College Savings, William Elliott, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

One policy rationale for promoting Child Development Accounts (CDAs) is that they may help reduce college debt, but no research provides evidence of this. Research does suggest that high-dollar student loans ($10,000 or more) can reduce the probability that lower income students in particular persist in and graduate from college. In this study, we find evidence to suggest that parents’ college savings may reduce the probability that students accrue high-dollar student loan debt across all income levels with the exception of high-income students. Based on this and evidence from separate research on small-dollar children’s savings accounts, we suggest that it …


Youth And Their Health In Ghana, Gina Chowa, Rainier Masa, Isaac Osei-Akoto Jan 2013

Youth And Their Health In Ghana, Gina Chowa, Rainier Masa, Isaac Osei-Akoto

Center for Social Development Research

Youth and Their Health in Ghana


Parental Involvement And Academic Performance In Ghana, Gina Chowa, David Ansong, Issac Osei-Akoto Jan 2013

Parental Involvement And Academic Performance In Ghana, Gina Chowa, David Ansong, Issac Osei-Akoto

Center for Social Development Research

Parental Involvement and Academic Performance in Ghana


Youth And Saving In Ghana: A Baseline Report From The Youthsave Ghana Experiment, Gina Chowa, David Ansong, Rainier Masa, Mat Despard, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Atta-Ankomah Richmond, Andrew Agyei-Holmes, Michael Sherraden Nov 2012

Youth And Saving In Ghana: A Baseline Report From The Youthsave Ghana Experiment, Gina Chowa, David Ansong, Rainier Masa, Mat Despard, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Atta-Ankomah Richmond, Andrew Agyei-Holmes, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Youth and Saving in Ghana: A Baseline Report From the YouthSave Ghana Experiment


Interviews With Mothers Of Young Children In The Seed For Oklahoma Kids College Savings Experiment, Karen Gray, Margaret Clancy, Margaret S. Sherraden, Kristen Wagner, Julie Miller-Cribbs Nov 2012

Interviews With Mothers Of Young Children In The Seed For Oklahoma Kids College Savings Experiment, Karen Gray, Margaret Clancy, Margaret S. Sherraden, Kristen Wagner, Julie Miller-Cribbs

Center for Social Development Research

Interviews With Mothers of Young Children in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids College Savings Experiment


Product Pilot Report: Youth Savings Performance In Ghana, Kenya, And Nepal, Lissa Johnson, Yungsoo Lee, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Moses Njenga, Sharad Sharma Jul 2012

Product Pilot Report: Youth Savings Performance In Ghana, Kenya, And Nepal, Lissa Johnson, Yungsoo Lee, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Moses Njenga, Sharad Sharma

Center for Social Development Research

Product Pilot Report: Youth Savings Performance in Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal


Youth Saving Patterns And Performance In Ghana, Gina A. N. Chowa, Mathieu R. Despard, Issac Osei-Akoto Jul 2012

Youth Saving Patterns And Performance In Ghana, Gina A. N. Chowa, Mathieu R. Despard, Issac Osei-Akoto

Center for Social Development Research

Youth Saving Patterns and Performance in Ghana


Cash-Flow And Savings Practices Of Low-Income Households: Evidence From A Follow-Up Study Of Ida Participants, David W. Rothwell, Nahid Sultana Feb 2012

Cash-Flow And Savings Practices Of Low-Income Households: Evidence From A Follow-Up Study Of Ida Participants, David W. Rothwell, Nahid Sultana

Center for Social Development Research

This study uses a survey of participants from an Individual Development Account (IDA) matched savings intervention to examine self-reported financial practices (cash flow and savings) five years after the intervention terminated. Latent class analysis produced three groups of financial practices - high, medium, and low functioning. Results showed that some low-income households are carefully managing their finances. Psychological sense of mastery was positively related to high functioning cash-flow and savings. The IDA intervention had no association with latent class membership. Antipoverty interventions should assess the financial practices of participants at the time of service enrollment. Further, social service providers should …


Ten-Year Impacts Of Individual Development Accounts On Homeownership: Evidence From A Randomized Experiment, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Michael Sherraden, William Gale, William M. Rohe, Mark Schreiner, Clinton Key Mar 2011

Ten-Year Impacts Of Individual Development Accounts On Homeownership: Evidence From A Randomized Experiment, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Michael Sherraden, William Gale, William M. Rohe, Mark Schreiner, Clinton Key

Center for Social Development Research

This paper presents evidence from a randomized field experiment to evaluate the long-term impact of an incentive for household saving. We examine the effect on homeownership of an Individual Development Account (IDA) program which ran from 1998 to 2003 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The IDA program provided low-income households with financial education and matching funds for qualified savings withdrawals, including a 2:1 match for housing down payments. About 90% of treatment group members opened IDA accounts, and contributions averaged about $1,800. Homeownership rates for both treatment and control groups increased substantially throughout the experiment. Prior work shows that from 1998 to …


Account Monitoring Research At Michigan Seed, Vernon Loke, Margaret Clancy, Robert Zager Oct 2009

Account Monitoring Research At Michigan Seed, Vernon Loke, Margaret Clancy, Robert Zager

Center for Social Development Research

Account Monitoring Research at Michigan SEED