Social Work Commons^™

Wealth-Building For All Children: Convergence And Evidence To Support A Nationwide Policy, Jin Huang, Trina R. Shanks, Margaret M. Clancy, William Elliott Iii, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Amid growing concern about wealth inequality in the United States, many policymakers and researchers have come to see early-life wealth-building policies as potential remedies. This brief discusses convergence in the policy community around a shared vision and principles for such policy, and it connects that vision to research. Child Development Account research, much of it conducted through CSD’s SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment, suggests the parameters for an inclusive, efficient, and effective policy that would express the community’s shared vision.

Report On A Seminar On Financial Capability And Asset Building Organised For Social Work Practitioners, Augustina Naami, Mavis Dako-Gyeke, Abigail Adubea Mills, Abena Ampomah

Center for Social Development Research

A key step in the work to improve the financial stability and security of marginalized populations begins with training social work practitioners and other human service professionals for competencies in supporting families to build financial security and freedom. In September 2023, the Department of Social Work at the University of Ghana collaborated with the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to organize a seminar on financial capability and asset building (FCAB) for practitioners in Accra, Ghana. As part of the seminar, Faculty Director David Ansong discussed CSD’s FCAB Africa initiative. This report provides …

Reflections, Accomplishments, And Opportunities: The Csd Annual Letter, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In this annual letter to mark the start of the Center's for Social Development's 30th year, Founding Director Michael Sherraden shares reflections on some recent accomplishments and discusses the opportunities ahead.

My Alfond Grant Cda: Experience From 10 Years Of Automatic Deposits For All Maine Newborns, Colleen J. Quint, Margaret M. Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

For over a decade, the Alfond Scholarship Foundation has automatically enrolled every Maine-resident newborn into the United States’ first statewide, universal Child Development Account (CDA) by investing $500 on each child’s behalf in the NextGen 529 plan. This Policy Brief provides an overview of My Alfond Grant and tracks the growth of the CDA in the 10 years since it made the major policy-design change to implement automatic enrollment. The Brief also includes insights regarding partnerships and communications that have helped to improve My Alfond Grant’s ability to connect with Maine families.

Child Well-Being Policies In Post-Soviet Countries: The Potential Of Child Development Accounts, Aytakin Huseynli, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, all post-Soviet countries initiated reforms in child well-being systems. Some have undertaken meaningful changes, and others continue to struggle. This Policy Brief summarizes one portion of an in-depth study on child well-being policies in six post-Soviet countries: Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It discusses asset-building policy for children in those countries, an emerging national children’s account policy in Kazakhstan, and the potential for diffusion of Child Development Account policy.

Homegrown Stl 5th Annual Regional Summit On The State Of Opportunity For Black Boys And Young Men: Organizing For Solutions That Unleash The Elite Potential Of Young Black Males, Sean Joe, Maribeth Clifton, Demeisha Carlton-Brown

Center for Social Development Research

Convened annually, HomeGrown StL’s annual regional summit brings together service providers, government officials, private-sector partners, and residents to strengthen, align, and accelerate local collective-impact strategies that support the health, development, and economic mobility of Black boys and young men in St. Louis City and in St. Louis County.

This report summarizes developments from the 5th Regional Summit on the State of Opportunity for Black Boys and Young Men: Organizing for Solutions That Unleash the Elite Potential of Young Black Males, which convened June 9, 2022. In addition to describing Priority Objectives and Key Results developed during the summit, the report …

Welcome Home: A Policy Briefing Book For Housing Opportunity In St. Louis County, Molly W. Metzger

Center for Social Development Research

“Equality of opportunity” is a beautiful American ideal, but it stands in stark relief to the history of racist policies in the United States—including policies in the St. Louis region. Edited by Molly Metzger, this briefing book aims to broaden opportunity by offering ideas for housing policy change in the majority-white, inner-ring suburbs of St. Louis. The policy works in this collection were written by masters of social work students at Washington University’s Brown School as part of a social-policy course taught by Metzger in partnership with Mayor Laura Arnold of Webster Groves, Missouri, Webster Groves’ Alliance for Interracial Dignity, …

Advancing Racial Equity Through Community Land Trusts, Amal Alzhrani, Brittany Kiefer, Da-Yup Kim, Gabby Eissner

Center for Social Development Research

Community land trusts are nonprofit organizations designed to preserve housing affordability. This brief describes the design and operation of such trusts, illustrating the concept by spotlighting the Columbia Community Land Trust of Columbia, Missouri.

The contents of this brief evolved from a presentation given in the Colloquium on Inclusive Housing Policy for the St. Louis Region. Held in the Brown School at Washington University on December 15, 2022, the event was organized by the Center for Social Development in partnership with Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice and the Alliance for Interracial Dignity. The contents may also be found in …

Linkage Fees: A Vehicle For Financing Affordable Housing, Lillian Murphy, Stanford Cooper, Russell Beckham

Center for Social Development Research

A linkage fee is a policy instrument for capturing resources to fund affordable housing development and other public services. This brief describes the instrument and offers recommendations on implementing linkage-fee policies.

The contents of this brief evolved from a presentation given in the Colloquium on Inclusive Housing Policy for the St. Louis Region. Held in the Brown School at Washington University on December 15, 2022, the event was organized by the Center for Social Development in partnership with Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice and the Alliance for Interracial Dignity. The contents may also be found in Welcome Home: A …

Racially Restrictive Covenants: A Story Of Segregation, Disinvestment, And Lingering Implications, Fadya Al Hammam, Janeka Haden, Livi Logan-Wood, Joseph Roeder

Center for Social Development Research

Racially restrictive covenants are agreements, typically embedded in property deeds, that limit the transfer of property to non-white people. The covenants remain common features of property deeds in the St. Louis region, though enforcement of them was outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Shelley v. Kraemer decision in 1948. This brief discusses the covenants and identifies strategies for communities to deploy in addressing them.

The contents of this brief evolved from a presentation given in the Colloquium on Inclusive Housing Policy for the St. Louis Region. Held in the Brown School at Washington University on December 15, 2022, the event …

Zoning: Issues And Reform, Olivia Borland, Casey Kohlstruk, Lindsay Owens

Center for Social Development Research

What steps can communities take to broaden equitable access to housing and prevent residential displacement? This brief identifies strategies for reforming zoning policy to advance those goals.

The contents of this brief evolved from a presentation given in the Colloquium on Inclusive Housing Policy for the St. Louis Region. Held in the Brown School at Washington University on December 15, 2022, the event was organized by the Center for Social Development in partnership with Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice and the Alliance for Interracial Dignity. The contents may also be found in Welcome Home: A Policy Briefing Book for …

Global Child Development Accounts: A “Moon Shot” To Develop Every Child And The Planet, Michael Sherraden, Li Zou

Center for Social Development Research

The early 21st century has been marked by several global stresses. Effective responses, note Michael Sherraden and Li Zou, require large, bold solutions. In this concept note, they propose a global Child Development Account initiative, a global project for building assets for all children to invest in their full development. The times require audacity, Sherraden and Zou assert, but big changes are possible.

Child Development Accounts Reach Over 15 Million Children Globally, Li Zou, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

First proposed in 1991, inclusive asset-building policy for each child, policy that begins at birth, has now been tested and implemented in settings across the globe. This brief documents the emergence of Child Development Accounts and estimates their scope, focusing on policies in Singapore, the United Kingdom, Korea, Canada, Israel, and the United States.

Financial Facts: Seed Ok Child Development Accounts At Age 14, Margaret M. Clancy, Sondra G. Beverly, Mark Schreiner, Jin Huang, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This Fact Sheet presents financial outcomes as of December 31, 2021, when children in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment were about 14 years old. SEED OK is a large-scale policy test of universal, automatic, and progressive Child Development Accounts (CDAs). The essential feature of the CDA in SEED OK is a state-owned Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan (OK 529) account, which was automatically opened for newborns in late 2007 with an initial deposit of $1,000 and which has now grown to about $2,300.

Economic Security From An Asset Perspective, William Elliott Iii

Center for Social Development Research

hat is economic security, and what policies can help more families achieve it?

In talking about the New Deal, President Franklin Roosevelt provided a vision for what economic security should look like in America, a vision that CSD Faculty Director William Elliott III elaborates in this essay. To be secure, Elliott notes, families require enough to live by and something to live for; that is, they require income and assets. Elliott makes the case that policy has a vital role to play in creating and sustaining this security.

This Perspective presents remarks given by CSD Faculty Director William Elliott III …

Policy Design For Child Development Accounts: Parents' Perceptions, Sondra Beverly, Jin Huang, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment, which features of Child Development Account (CDA) policy do study participants perceive as important for increasing the number of children who earn a college degree or trade school certificate? Which features do participants view as important for encouraging parents to save for their children’s postsecondary education?

This brief presents findings from a 2020 survey of parents in the experiment, when their children were about 13 years old. Results are for 1,666 parents (those whose children received the CDA in SEED OK and those whose children did not) and for subgroups defined by household …

Preparing Social Workers To Improve People’S Finances, Margaret S. Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In 2020, the China Association of Social Work Education created the Financial Social Work Commission, acknowledging the potential benefits of equipping social workers to guide their clients in financial matters. But what do social workers need to know about finances, and how will they learn it?

In this Perspective, Margaret Sherraden shares an address given during “Localization of Financial Social Work Education: Goals, Textbook, and Strategies,” a panel discussion convened as part of Theory and Practice for Financial Social Work: Promoting Common Prosperity, the first national Forum of the Financial Social Work Commission, Beijing, China, January 8, 2022. Panelists discussed …

Financial Capability And Asset Building In Social Work Practice, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Acknowledging the potential benefits of training social workers to offer clients guidance on financial matters, the China Association of Social Work Education created the Financial Social Work Commission in 2020. This new unit within the association was designed to serve as a hub for research and insights to facilitate the development of financial capability and asset holding in vulnerable populations. The Commission promotes the training of social workers with the knowledge and skills required to integrate financial capability services into social work practice.

This Perspective presents the keynote address given by CSD Founding Director Michael Sherraden as part of “Theory …

Financial Facts From The Seed For Oklahoma Kids Child Development Account Experiment, Center For Social Development

Center for Social Development Research

How does a Child Development Account (CDA) opened at a child’s birth shape their access to assets for higher education?

This Fact Sheet highlights findings from Financial Outcomes in a Child Development Account Experiment: Full Inclusion, Success Regardless of Race or Income, and Investment Growth for All (CSD Research Summary 21-06). Products of the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment, both the Fact Sheet and the Research Summary indicate that the automatic CDA in SEED OK greatly increases the likelihood that disadvantaged children have assets for their future education. When given a CDA structure and support for …

Environment And Health In Nigeria: Capacity And Research Development, Christine C. Ekenga, Lisa Reyes Mason, Adetoun Mustapha

Center for Social Development Research

In Africa, population growth, urbanization, and climate change are environmental health challenges of emerging concern. These challenges intersect in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. Because of gaps in research capacity, data collection, and research funding, data are lacking on extreme weather’s effects on health there.

This brief describes a project to promote the development of collaborative capacity and research in environmental epidemiology in Nigeria. The project will also produce new knowledge on the physical and mental health impacts of weather extremes among residents of Nigeria’s coastal cities, including Lagos, Africa’s most populous city. The project is designed to improve public …

Homegrown Stl 4th Annual Regional Summit On The State Of Opportunities For Black Boys And Young Men: Closing The Health, Growth, And Opportunity Gaps, Sean Joe, Maribeth Clifton, Demeisha Carlton-Brown

Center for Social Development Research

Convened annually, HomeGrown StL’s annual regional summit brings together service providers, government officials, private-sector partners, and residents to strengthen, align, and accelerate local collective-impact strategies that support the health, development, and economic mobility of Black boys and young men in St. Louis City and in St. Louis County.

This report summarizes developments from the 4th Regional Summit on the State of Opportunities for Black Boys and Young Men: Closing the Healing, Growth, & Opportunity Gaps, which convened June 3, 2021. Priority Objectives and Key Results developed during the summit are described. In addition, the report details the progress of HomeGrown …

Targeted Deposits In Pennsylvania’S Keystone Scholars Child Development Account Program, Anne Dececco, Julie Peachey, Margaret M. Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

In 2018, Pennsylvania became the first state to legislate a statewide, automatic CDA for all children at birth. In 2021, Pennsylvania achieved another first: an automatic targeted deposit within the Keystone Scholars program to build wealth for financially vulnerable children.

This brief examines two new targeted policy initiatives being piloted for Pennsylvania mothers who participate in WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. The Bright Future Booster and Milestone pilots represent important steps in expanding the Keystone Scholars program and serving as models for other states. Pennsylvania Treasury and the PA 529 make this CDA policy …

Redesigning College Savings (529) Plans To Achieve Inclusive Child Development Accounts: A Policy Brief Developed By Cda Experts And Researchers, José Cisneros, Margaret M. Clancy, William Elliott Iii, Amanda Feinstein, Martha Kanter, Muneer Karcher-Ramos, Clint Kugler, Julie Peachey, Colleen Quint, Thomas M. Shapiro, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In this policy brief, prominent Child Development Account (CDA) experts and researchers recommend changes in policies and practices for state college savings (529) plans. If adopted, the changes would make possible the use of the 529 plans to deliver CDAs for all children in the United States. In a companion brief, they present the case for a nationwide CDA policy and identify design principles.

The Case For A Nationwide Child Development Account Policy: A Policy Brief Developed By Cda Experts And Researchers, José Cisneros, Margaret M. Clancy, William Elliott Iii, Amanda Feinstein, Martha Kanter, Muneer Karcher-Ramos, Clint Kugler, Julie Peachey, Colleen Quint, Thomas M. Shapiro, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In this policy brief, prominent Child Development Account (CDA) experts and researchers present the case for a nationwide policy to provide CDAs and build assets for all children in the United States. The authors identify principles for CDA policy design. In a companion brief, they discuss policy and practice changes to make college savings (529) plans far more inclusive.

Reflections Of A Central Bank Governor, Ernest K. Addison

Center for Social Development Research

Central banks seldom play central roles in the strategies that researchers and practitioners formulate for fostering financial capability in marginalized populations, but in this Perspective, by Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, illustrates that the work of those banks is “inextricably linked” to financial capability.

This Perspective presents remarks offered by Dr. Addison as part of the event marking the launch of Financial Capability and Asset Building in Africa (FCAB Africa). Participants gathered virtually for the start of this multinational collaboration in a session of the 22nd biennial conference of the International Consortium for Social Development, which …

Fcab Africa: Advancing Financial Stability, Security, And Well-Being, Center For Social Development

Center for Social Development Research

In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile phones and financial technology have opened doors to financial inclusion for millions, but the new financial terrain is uneven ground fraught with risks. High fees, aggressive marketing, mounting personal debt, varied digital access, and nascent regulatory structures heighten vulnerability and threaten hard-won progress toward broad financial inclusion. Financial Capability and Asset Building in Africa, or FCAB Africa, will equip human-service professionals to broaden financial stability, security, and well-being in sub-Saharan Africa, developing the financial capability of service populations and cultivating sound financial strategies. The initiative will also work with financial-service providers to create a comprehensive financial-development …

Lessons On Policies That Strengthen Household Financial Resilience To Overcome Shocks: A Keynote Address By Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President Of The Republic Of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia Phd

Center for Social Development Research

This Perspective presents remarks given by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, on July 15, 2021. He delivered this keynote address during FCAB Africa: The Launch of a Multinational Collaboration, an event marking the beginning of the Financial Capability and Asset Building in Africa (FCAB Africa) initiative. Vice President Bawumia drew lessons from pandemic policy and issued a call to broaden access to beneficial financial services and the knowledge and skills required to make optimal financial decisions.

Fcab Africa: Summary Of Achievements As Of July 2021, Center For Social Development

Center for Social Development Research

Financial Capability and Asset Building in Africa (FCAB Africa) is a multinational collaboration designed (a) to equip human-service professionals to broaden the financial stability, security, and well-being of client populations in sub-Saharan Africa; and (b) to work with financial-service providers to create a comprehensive financial-development program delivered through existing services, including fintech. This Fact Sheet describes the goals of the FCAB Africa initiative and strategy for achieving them.

Financial Capability And Asset Building: Achievements, Challenges, And Next Steps, Johnson Lissa, Margaret S. Sherraden, Gena Gunn Mcclendon, Julie Birkenmaier, Jodi Frey, Christine Callahan, Jin Huang

Center for Social Development Research

In the midst of a global pandemic that brought untold numbers of families to a financial precipice, experts came together to examine the role of social work in ensuring financial security and equity for all. This conference report details the most recent of five Financial Capability and Asset Building (FCAB) conferences held since 2015. The two-part virtual conference, held in September 2020 and February 2021, convened leaders in the academy and in the field to discuss achievements, challenges, and next steps in FCAB.

Building Financial Capability And Assets For Disadvantaged Entrepreneurs, Jin Huang, Baorong Guo

Center for Social Development Research

Low wages and material need motivates many to supplement income through entrepreneurship, and policymakers intervened to support such efforts in the COVID-19 economy. What lessons can these supports offer for ongoing efforts to support disadvantaged entrepreneurs? Using data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study, this brief examines the income volatility and emergency savings of disadvantaged entrepreneurs. The findings suggest the potential of long-term policy mechanisms to improve financial security.