Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion

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  1. Toward healthy balance sheets: Are savings accounts a gateway to young adults' asset diversification and accumulation

    Citation

    Friedline, T., Johnson, P., & Hughes, R. (2014). Toward healthy balance sheets: Are savings accounts a gateway to young adults' asset diversification and accumulation? Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 96(4), 359-389.

    Authors

    Friedline, Terri, Johnson, Paul, Hughes, Robert

    Children's Savings Account Journal Article Year 2014

  2. Accounts, assets, expectations, and achievements: How Child Development Accounts may increase college success

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    Citation

    Beverly, S. G., Elliott, W., & Sherraden, M. (2013). Accounts, assets, expectations, and achievements: How Child Development Accounts may increase college success (CSD Perspective 13-27). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development.

    Authors

    Beverly, Sondra G., Sherraden, Michael

    Children's Savings Account Perspective Year 2013

  3. Accumulating assets, debts in young adulthood: Children as potential future investors

    Child Development Accounts (CDA) aim to open savings accounts in childhood as a way to lay a foundation for building assets in young adulthood and beyond. Mainstream banks may be key partners in opening the accounts in which children can build assets. While children may have limited savings to invest initially, they may increasingly invest over time by accumulating assets and debts through mainstream banks. Mainstream banks may benefit from children's increasing investments. This paper uses propensity score weighted, longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its supplements to examine savings, assets, debt, and net worth accumulation of young adults and whether or not they accumulate more when they have savings accounts as children. Young adults accumulate a median of $1000 in savings accounts, $4600 in total assets, $965 in debt (excluding student loans), and $4000 in net worth (excluding student loans). Young adults accumulate more savings and total assets when they have savings accounts as children. They accumulate less debt and more net worth when their households accumulate high net worth.

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    Citation

    Friedline, T., & Song, H. (2013). Accumulating assets, debts in young adulthood: Children as potential future investors. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(9), 1486–1502.

    Authors

    Friedline, Terri, Song, Hyun-a

    Children's Savings Account / Financial Inclusion Journal Article Year 2013

  4. Assets and educational achievement: Theory and evidence

    This special issue of Economics of Education Review explores the role of savings and asset holding in post-secondary educational achievement. Most college success research has focused on income rather than assets as a predictor, and most college financing policy has focused on tuition support and educational debt, rather than asset accumulation. Nevertheless, there is compelling evidence that household asset holdings, especially savings for education, may have a pronounced positive influence, independent from income, in post-secondary educational success. Moreover, the fundamental reality is that savings plays a role, even though sometimes small, in college financing for most households. For these empirical and practical reasons, it may be important to pay greater attention to savings and asset holding for education in the future than we have in the past. The articles in this volume contribute empirical evidence, theoretical understanding, and potential policy directions regarding saving, asset holding, and educational achievement.

    Authors

    Sherraden, Michael

    Children's Savings Account Journal Article Year 2013

  5. Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education

    American society reflects considerable class immobility, much of which is due to the wide gap in college completion rates between advantaged and disadvantaged groups of students. In the introduction we discuss the factors that cause unequal college completion rates, introduce assets as an explanation stratification scholars often ignore, and then outline the remainder of this report.

    Related items: Briefs

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Designing for Success Investing In Our Future Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success

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    Authors

    AEDI

    Children's Savings Account Executive Summary Year 2013

  6. Building expectations, delivering results: Asset-based financial aid and the future of higher education

    The price of higher education has increased dramatically in recent decades as higher education financing has shifted from a collectively funded public good to reliance on individual and family contributions. This cost burden has implications for education’s ability to serve as an equalizing force in the U.S., but asset-based financial aid models may have the potential to transform our financial aid system. While high student loan debt may hinder college completion and even serve as a deterrent to enrollment among some disadvantaged students, promoting asset development may reduce the need for loans and improve educational outcomes. Policies that combine smaller student loans with asset-based approaches could create a financial-aid model that builds college readiness among low-income students, improves their access to college, and increases their chances of success in higher education and of financial security post-graduation.

    Related items: Briefs

    Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Designing for Success Investing In Our Future Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Examining The Canadian Education Savings Program and Its Implications for U.S. Child Savings Accounts (CSA) Policy

    Citation

    Elliott, William (Ed.), (2013). Building expectations, delivering results: Asset-based financial aid and the future of higher education. In Biannual report on the assets and education field. Lawrence, KS: Assets and Education Initiative (AEDI).

    Authors

    Elliott III, William

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013

  7. Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education

    The Biannual Report on the Assets and Education Field, Building Expectations, Delivering Results, brings together a wide body of research to demonstrate the potential that CSAs have for transforming the way that students pay for, and prepare for, college. By changing the timing of aid delivery and strengthening household finances in the years leading up to college, an asset-based financial aid system need not cost more than our current system, either. This transformation could, in turn, restore the promise of economic mobility for a generation of talented but disadvantaged young people.

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Designing for Success Investing In Our Future Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System ​Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education

    Citation

    Assets and Education Initiative. (2013). Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and the Future of Higher Education. In W. Elliott (Ed.), Biannual report on the assets and education field. Lawrence, KS: Assets and Education Initiative (AEDI).

    Authors

    Rauscher, Emily

    Children's Savings Account Report Year 2013

  8. Can CSAs help resolve the expectation-attainment paradox? Developing a college-saver identity in children

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    Citation

    Elliott, W. (2013). Can CSAs help resolve the expectation-attainment paradox? Developing a college-saver identity in children (CSD Fact Sheet 13-30). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development.

    Authors

    Elliott III, William

    Children's Savings Account Fact Sheet Year 2013

  9. Children as potential future investors: Accumulating assets, accumulating debts in young adulthood

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    Citation

    Friedline, T., & Song, H. (2013). Children as potential future investors: Accumulating assets, accumulating debts in young adulthood (Report II of III). Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare, Assets & Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Friedline, Terri, Song, Hyun-a

    Children's Savings Account Report Year 2013

  10. Children as potential future investors: Connections with banking institutions and diverse asset portfolios in young adulthood

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    Citation

    Friedline, T., & Elliott, W. (2013). Children as potential future investors: Connections with banking institutions and diverse asset portfolios in young adulthood (Report I of III). Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare, Assets & Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Friedline, Terri

    Children's Savings Account Report Year 2013

  11. Children as potential future investors: Do mainstream banks augment children's capacity to save

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    Citation

    Friedline, T. (2013). Children as potential future investors: Do mainstream banks augment children's capacity to save? (Report III of III). Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare, Assets & Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Friedline, Terri

    Children's Savings Account Report Year 2013

  12. Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System (Chapter 6 – Brief 3)

    Successfully advancing CSA policy will require analyzing the political context so that proposals can take advantage of windows of opportunity, framing CSAs as congruent with prevailing values, and crafting CSAs such that they are positioned as effective solutions to important policy problems. To this end, research documenting the concerning effects of the overreliance of student debt as a mechanism through which to finance college, as well as the potential of asset based approaches to potentially reduce high-dollar debt and improve educational outcomes, is perhaps one of the most significant developments towards national CSA policy. CSAs can be clearly understood to have potential to solve one of our most pressing problems: how to bring college affordability to enough prepared students to increase educational attainment without compromising future economic security—for the nation or for individual students. This framing of CSAs has practical fiscal implications, too; if asset-based approaches to financing higher education are seen as ways to reduce dependence on debt-heavy ones, then the ‘net cost’ might be understood to be smaller, particularly in light of the potentially negative long-term financial effects of outstanding student loans.

    Related items: Briefs:

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Designing for Success Investing In Our Future Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Examining The Canadian Education Savings Program and Its Implications for U.S. Child Savings Accounts (CSA) Policy

    Citation

    Lewis, M., Elliott, W., Cramer, R. and Black, R. (2013). Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System (Chapter 6 – Brief 3). In W. Elliott (Ed.), Giving children a financial stake in college: Are CSAs a way to help maximize financial aid dollars? (Biannual Report on the Assets and Education Field). Lawrence, KS: Assets and Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Lewis, Melinda, Cramer, Reid, Black, Rachel

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013

  13. Connections with banking institutions and diverse asset portfolios in young adulthood: Children as potential future investors

    A central hypothesis of Child Development Accounts (CDA) suggests that savings accounts in childhood lay a foundation for connecting to mainstream banking institutions and diversifying asset portfolios in young adulthood and beyond. While children may have limited savings to invest initially, they are financial actors who may increasingly invest money into different types of savings products over time. This paper uses propensity score weighted, longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its supplements to examine the types of financial and nonfinancial assets owned by young adults and whether or not they are more likely to own these assets when they have savings accounts as children. The most commonly owned assets in young adulthood included savings accounts (89%), vehicles (54%) and credit cards (51%). Smaller percentages owned stocks (9%), bonds (6%), and homes (8%). On average, young adults owned two to three different assets. Having savings accounts in childhood was associated with being two times more likely to own savings accounts, two times more likely to own credit cards, and four times more likely to own stocks in young adulthood, compared to not having savings accounts in childhood. Young adults' ownership of more total financial assets was also associated with having savings accounts in childhood. Findings provide some supporting evidence of demand for children's savings accounts. Policy endeavors that remove barriers to account ownership may be advantageous for children and mainstream banks.

    Citation

    Friedline, T., & Elliott, W. (2013). Connections with banking institutions and diverse asset portfolios in young adulthood: Children as potential future investors. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(6), 994-1006.

    Authors

    Friedline, Terri, Elliott III, William

    Children's Savings Account / Financial Inclusion Journal Article Year 2013

  14. CSAs as an early commitment financial aid strategy (Chapter 3 - Brief)

    When thinking about the role CSAs may play in increasing college enrollment and completion, we need a broader frame than just helping children pay for college. Emerging research linking assets with academic achievement suggests that CSAs may be a valuable tool for addressing long-term barriers to closing the attainment gap—a potentially greater challenge in improving outcomes and equity. As early commitment financial aid strategies, CSAs may help to shape children’s college expectations, thereby impacting parents’ investments in their children’s education and potentially mitigating some of the effects of poverty on educational attainment. The potential for cumulative effects starting in early childhood and CSAs’ potential impact on post-college outcomes bolster the argument for including CSAs in the financial aid system and considering the role of timing in influencing financial aid efficacy.

    Related items: Briefs:

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Designing for Success Investing In Our Future Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Examining The Canadian Education Savings Program and Its Implications for U.S. Child Savings Accounts (CSA) Policy

    Read Publication

    Citation

    Elliott, W. with Kelchen, R. (2013). CSAs as an early commitment financial aid strategy (Chapter 3 - Brief). In W. Elliott (Ed.), Giving children a financial stake in college: Are CSAs a way to help maximize financial aid dollars? (Biannual Report on the Assets and Education Field). Lawrence, KS: Assets and Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Kelchen, Robert

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013

  15. Designated education accounts can lead students to college

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    Citation

    Friedline, T. (2013, January 8). Designated education accounts can lead students to college. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

    Authors

    Friedline, Terri

    Children's Savings Account Op-Ed Year 2013

  16. Designing CSAs: The Independent Effects of Accounts in Children’s Names

    In the last few decades, children's savings accounts (CSAs) have emerged as a strategy for preparing children for their educational and financial futures, especially for those from low- to moderate-income households. This means a savings account is opened early in life and any accumulated savings can be used toward children's future expenses like college tuition or small business entrepreneurship. One question regarding CSA design is whether ownership over accounts should reside with children or parents. In other words, do children benefit educationally and financially when CSAs are in their names, or is it sufficient for parents to save on their children's behalf? This brief presents findings of the effects on children's financial futures when savings accounts are opened in their names. Findings validate the design of many existing CSAs and point to the need to reexamine policies that may discourage families from establishing accounts in children’s names.

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    Citation

    AEDI (2013). Designing CSAs: The independent effects of accounts in children’s names. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare, Assets and Education Initiative.

    Authors

    AEDI

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013

  17. Designing for success: Children’s savings account policy features to drive educational outcomes (Chapter 6 – Brief 1)

    CSAs should include every child of a given age—ideally, at birth, although there are certainly reasons to tie additional incentives to accomplishment of specific academic or life milestones. Including everyone in CSAs underscores the stake we all have in each other’s prosperity, which is particularly true when it comes to global competitiveness and the educational outcomes CSAs can deliver. Universality also means inclusiveness, or meaningful access to asset accumulation by low-income individuals who otherwise may not have truly equitable opportunities.1 This speaks to the need for features such as automatic enrollment (opt-out), concerted outreach and education strategies, and special incentives for lower-income households, in order to avoid a ‘universal’ CDA policy turning into another asset development investment that disproportionately benefits those already advantaged.

    Related items: Briefs:

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Investing In Our Future Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Examining The Canadian Education Savings Program and Its Implications for U.S. Child Savings Accounts (CSA) Policy

    Read Publication

    Citation

    Lewis, M., Elliott, W., Cramer, R. and Black, R. (2013). Designing for success: Children’s savings account policy features to drive educational outcomes (Chapter 6 – Brief 1). In W. Elliott (Ed.), Giving children a financial stake in college: Are CSAs a way to help maximize financial aid dollars? (Biannual Report on the Assets and Education Field). Lawrence, KS: Assets and Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Lewis, Melinda, Cramer, Reid, Black, Rachel

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013

  18. Evaluation of the 2011 GEAR UP priority: Lessons learned about integrating CSAs within GEAR UP

    The federally funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) is one of the most widely known U.S. programs which attempts to increase college enrollment and completion rates among disadvantaged students. GEAR UP has three main aims specifically targeted toward disadvantaged students historically underrepresented in higher education: (1) to increase academic performance and preparation for higher education, (2) to increase the rates of high school graduation and participation in higher education, and (3) to increase students’ and families’ knowledge of higher education options, including academic preparation and financing.

    In 2011, an invitational priority was announced by the Department of Education (DOE) that encouraged grant applicants to include financial access and Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) in their programming for students and their families. In a September press release, DOE announced 66 new GEAR UP grantees from the 2011 application cycle. Nineteen grantees were state entities and 47 were community-education partnerships.

    In 2012, researchers from the Assets and Education Initiative (AEDI) at the University of Kansas launched a multi-method evaluation of 2011 GEAR UP grantees who accepted the invitational priority. AEDI combed through the GEAR UP applications and identified 33 grantees that explicitly stated in their abstracts the intention to open CSAs and/or teach financial education to students and their families. Among these 33 grantees, 25 programs completed AEDI’s initial survey. AEDI selected five programs to participate in a follow-up survey and in-depth interviews and focus groups during on-site visits. The study aimed to answer four primary research questions: (1) How well prepared do GEAR UP programs perceive themselves to be for planning and implementing CSAs? (2) What steps have GEAR UP programs taken to plan and implement CSAs? (3) What obstacles have GEAR UP programs encountered? and (4) What strategies have GEAR UP programs used to overcome obstacles that they encountered?

    Citation

    Elliott, W. (Ed.). (2013). Evaluation of the 2011 GEAR UP priority: Lessons learned about integrating CSAs within GEAR UP. Lawrence, KS: Asset and Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Elliott III, William

    Children's Savings Account Report Year 2013

  19. Evaluation of the 2011 GEAR UP Priority: Lessons Learned About Integrating CSAs within GEAR UP

    The federally funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) is one of the most widely known U.S. programs which attempts to increase college enrollment and completion rates among disadvantaged students. GEAR UP has three main aims specifically targeted toward disadvantaged students historically underrepresented in higher education: (1) to increase academic performance and preparation for higher education, (2) to increase the rates of high school graduation and participation in higher education, and (3) to increase students’ and families’ knowledge of higher education options, including academic preparation and financing.

    In 2011, an invitational priority was announced by the Department of Education (DOE) that encouraged grant applicants to include financial access and Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) in their programming for students and their families. In a September press release, DOE announced 66 new GEAR UP grantees from the 2011 application cycle. Nineteen grantees were state entities and 47 were community-education partnerships.

    In 2012, researchers from the Assets and Education Initiative (AEDI) at the University of Kansas launched a multi-method evaluation of 2011 GEAR UP grantees who accepted the invitational priority. AEDI combed through the GEAR UP applications and identified 33 grantees that explicitly stated in their abstracts the intention to open CSAs and/or teach financial education to students and their families. Among these 33 grantees, 25 programs completed AEDI’s initial survey. AEDI selected five programs to participate in a follow-up survey and in-depth interviews and focus groups during on-site visits. The study aimed to answer four primary research questions: (1) How well prepared do GEAR UP programs perceive themselves to be for planning and implementing CSAs? (2) What steps have GEAR UP programs taken to plan and implement CSAs? (3) What obstacles have GEAR UP programs encountered? and (4) What strategies have GEAR UP programs used to overcome obstacles that they encountered?

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    Authors

    Friedline, Terri, Scanlon, Edward, Johnson, Toni, Lewis, Melinda

    Children's Savings Account Report Year 2013

  20. Family assets, postsecondary education, and students with disabilities: Building on progress and overcoming challenges

    Students with disabilities are increasingly enrolling and participating in two-year, four-year, and other institutions of higher education. Federal policies and initiatives addressing the educational needs of students and adults with disabilities provided impetus for these increases. For example, mandates within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) have resulted in K-12 public schools increasingly preparing students for postsecondary education. Nonetheless, students with disabilities continue to face financial challenges as well as low educational expectations in their pursuit of postsecondary education. Family assets may provide a framework for addressing these challenges and provide specific implications for policy as well as educational practice.

    Citation

    Cheatham, G., Smith, S. J., Elliott, W., & Friedline, T. (2013). Family assets, postsecondary education, and students with disabilities: Building on progress and overcoming challenges. Children and Youth Services Review 35(7), pp. 1078-1086

    Authors

    Cheatham, Greg, Smith, Sean J., Elliott III, William, Friedline, Terri

    Children's Savings Account Journal Article Year 2013

  21. From Disadvantaged students to college graduates: The role of CSAs (Chapter 4 - Brief)

    Minority and low-income children have many of the same aspirations for college as more advantaged children, but their enrollment and completion rates lag. This contradiction between high expectations and constrained achievement provides one of the more vivid illustrations of failure of the education path to act as the great equalizer. Addressing the educational challenges facing disadvantaged children will require innovations that can create greater equality of opportunity, such that their innate talents and academic effort translate into meaningful access to college. Evidence points to differences in asset accumulation as part of the key to explaining educational gaps. Children’s savings for school, even at very low levels, may empower low-income high school graduates to enter and succeed in college. Some of these effects may be a result of children’s changed engagement with institutions, which they see as supportive of their aspirations and consistent with their normative expectations. Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) can be a step toward changing the educational trajectories of disadvantaged, but talented, children in the U.S.

    Related items: Briefs:

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Designing for Success Investing In Our Future Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Examining The Canadian Education Savings Program and Its Implications for U.S. Child Savings Accounts (CSA) Policy

    Citation

    Elliott, W. & Rauscher, E. (2013). From disadvantaged students to college graduates: The role of CSAs (Chapter 4 - Brief). In W. Elliott (Ed.), Giving children a financial stake in college: Are CSAs a way to help maximize financial aid dollars? (Biannual Report of the Assets and Education Field). Lawrence, KS: Assets and Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Elliott III, William, Rauscher, Emily

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013

  22. How CSAs facilitate saving and asset accumulation (Chapter 5 - Brief)

    Traditional theories of savings would lead observers to believe that low-income children are unlikely to accumulate any assets, given their limited incomes and their parents’ limited ability to transmit financial knowledge and skills. However, empirical evidence and institutional theory suggest that low-income children can indeed save and that crafting structures that can facilitate their saving—including Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs)—may help savings to serve as a pathway to economic mobility for these disadvantaged youth.

    Related items: Briefs:

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs Designing for Success Investing In Our Future Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Examining The Canadian Education Savings Program and Its Implications for U.S. Child Savings Accounts (CSA) Policy

    Citation

    Elliott, W, Friedline, T., and Kakatoi, S. (2013). How CSAs facilitate saving and asset accumulation (Chapter 5 - Brief). In W. Elliott (Ed.), Giving children a financial stake in college: Are CSAs a way to help maximize financial aid dollars? (Biannual Report for the Assets and Education Field). Lawrence, KS: Assets and Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Elliott III, William, Friedline, Terri, Kakoti, Sally

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013

  23. Improving college progress among low- to moderate-income (LMI) young adults: The role of assets

    Little is known about the impact of assets on low- to -moderate-income (LMI) young adults’ college progress. In this study college progress refers to young adults who were currently enrolled in, or who have a degree from, a 2-year college or a 4-year college. Findings from this study suggest LMI young adults with school savings were more than three times as likely to be on course than LMI young adults without any savings or who had savings but had not designated any of it for school. In regard to net worth, we found no evidence to suggest that higher amounts of negative net worth were statistically significant; however, high positive net worth was associated with LMI young adults college progress. Findings suggest policy instruments designed to assist adolescents to save such as universal Child Development Accounts may be a simple and effective strategy for helping to keep LMI young adults on course.

    Citation

    Elliott, W., Constance-Huggins, M.,* and Song, H.* (2013). Improving college progress among low- to moderate-income (LMI) young adults: The role of assets. Journal of Family and Economic Issues 34, 382-399.

    Authors

    Elliott III, William, Constance-Huggins, Monique, Song, Hyun-a

    Children's Savings Account Journal Article Year 2013

  24. Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects (Chapter 2 - Brief)

    In addition to helping children finance college, much of the interest in creating asset-building policies for children is based on their potential for changing how children think and act. An institutional facilitation theory can help explain how assets may influence children’s expectations for college and in turn, their educational outcomes. This theoretical understanding can also guide CSA policy, to maximize the potential for positive impact on children’s educations.

    Related items: Briefs:

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Designing for Success Investing In Our Future Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Examining The Canadian Education Savings Program and Its Implications for U.S. Child Savings Accounts (CSA) Policy

    Citation

    Elliott, W., & Sherraden, M. S. (2013). Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects (Chapter 2 - Brief). In W. Elliott (Ed.), Giving Children a financial stake in college: Are CSAs a way to help maximize financial aid dollars? (Biannual Report On the Assets And Education Field). Lawrence, KS: Assets And Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Elliott III, William, Sherraden, Margaret Sherrard

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013

  25. Investing in our future: Moving from adequacy to asset-building, and improving educational outcomes (Chapter 6 – Brief 2)

    Part of the explanation for rising inequity in educational attainment between disadvantaged children and their wealthier peers may be found in the different access to capital development—human and financial—afforded to these groups of children, within U.S. policy structures. Where wealthy children benefit from their families’ ability to make college a likely part of their future, low-income children are more likely to perceive increasing college costs as insurmountable burdens. Where wealthy families receive considerable tax benefits from participating in state 529 college savings plans, low-income families participating in means-tested public assistance face strict penalties if they save money. These inequities are manifest, then, in lower college enrollment and graduation rates for disadvantaged children, and we collectively pay the price in lost productivity and a constrained ability to compete in the global economy.

    To the extent to which evidence suggests that assets can alter these educational trajectories, CSA policy may be considered an investment in our shared future. CSAs would provide an alternative to current consumption-based welfare supports for low-income households and may help to close the gaps by using the lever of U.S. policy commitment to provide disadvantaged children with access to transformative asset development.

    Related items: Briefs:

    From a Debt-Dependent to an Asset-Based Financial Aid Model Institutional Facilitation and CSA Effects CSAs As An Early Commitment Financial Aid Strategy From Disadvantaged Student to College Graduates: The Role of CSAs How CSAs Facilitate Saving and Asset Accumulation Designing for Success Children’s Savings Accounts and a 21st Century Financial Aid System Executive Summary

    Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and The Future of Higher Education Infographics

    College Savings Accounts: More Degrees, Less Debt The Role of Institutional Facilitation in Academic Success Reports

    Examining The Canadian Education Savings Program and Its Implications for U.S. Child Savings Accounts (CSA) Policy

    Read Publication

    Citation

    Lewis, M., Elliott, W., Cramer, R. and Black, R. (2013). Investing in our future: Moving from adequacy to asset-building, and improving educational outcomes (Chapter 6 – Brief 2). In W. Elliott (Ed.), Giving children a financial stake in college: Are CSAs a way to help maximize financial aid dollars? (Biannual Report on the Assets and Education Field). Lawrence, KS: Assets and Education Initiative.

    Authors

    Lewis, Melinda, Elliott III, William, Cramer, Reid, Black, Rachel

    Children's Savings Account Brief Year 2013