Social Work Commons^™

From Helena To Harlem: Experiences Of Lower-Income Rural And Urban Parents In Childrens Savings Account Programs, Edward Scalon, Leann Wittman

Center for Social Development Research

This report focuses on a qualitative study of parents and other parents who were involved in the SEED program at the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City and the Southern Good Faith Fund in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas. In-depth interviews with the caregivers of child participants were designed to help provide a richer understanding of perceived facilitators and obstacles to saving, perceived effects of saving, and participants’ experiences of various program features. This report focus on three of our primary research concerns: perceived saving facilitators, perceived saving barriers, and perceived impacts of SEED participation.