Society for Social Work and Research 17th Annual Conference: Social Work for a Just Society: Making Visible the Stakes and Stakeholders

January 16 - 20, 2013

Asset-based social programs aim to improve financial security through expanding available capital and enhancing sophistication in dealing with an increasingly complicated financial landscape. While asset-based policy is gaining increasing attention in the US and around the world, few such programs currently target children and youths, and the field is slowly developing knowledge how asset-based programs may affect their well-being. To the extent that participants in these programs can achieve savings, these programs may enhance young people’s future orientation, financial sophistication, and capital available for education. This symposium features research that examines asset-based programs, illuminating the range of programs directed at young people and identifying participant and program characteristics that are associated with higher levels of savings.

The three studies featured in this symposium involve in-depth interviews of participants from three distinct programs. The first study examines SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK), a randomized experiment of incentivized savings accounts initiated at birth. The second study explores the experiences of teens and parents of young children with matched savings accounts. The final study examines an asset-building program, Opportunity Passport^TM, that targets current and former foster youths. Together the papers advance the field’s understanding of how programs focused on expanding saving behavior and asset development may affect the well-being of children and youths. The symposium presents a unique opportunity for examining the current landscape of asset-based programs for young people and identifying priorities for future research.