Socioeconomic and Institutional Factors that Facilitate and Prevent Low-Income African American Parents' Involvement in a Children's Savings Program

Abstract

National and international reports have established the legitimate use of child savings accounts (CSAs) as asset-building vehicles for youths. However, many U.S. programs report difficulty in recruiting parents for CSA programs and note the failure of some parents to take full advantage of the financial match available when they do participate. This article reports some of the findings from a mixed-method study that examines a group of African American parents' involvement with a U.S. child savings account program known as Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED). The elements that parents perceive to be critical to a CSA program are identified and those elements are then examined as they relate to the SEED program. Analyses revealed six themes where elements that parents identified as important were also elements that were frequently demonstrated in the SEED program. However, the study uncovered serious challenges encountered by the SEED staff and lessons learned in the process. Findings present information that may help increase African American-American parent involvement in CSAs and other asset-building programs.

Keywords:

• child savings programs
• asset building
• IDAs
• college savings
• parent involvement
• low-income families

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge the tireless efforts of Ms. Lori McClinton-Powell, SEED Director, in the development and implementation of this study. She also wants to thank the SEED families who participated in this study. Their willingness to honestly share their thoughts, over multiple meetings, allowed the capture of data useful to the field of asset building. Finally, a special thanks to Dory Rand and the staff of the Chicago SEED program for their support of this study.

Notes

1. The national partners include the Center for Economic Development (CFED), the Center for Social Development at Washington University, The University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare, the New America Foundation, and the Initiative on Financial Security of the Aspen Institute. Funding for SEED comes from the Ford Foundation, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Jim Casey Youth Opportunity Initiative, Citigroup Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, MetLife Foundation, Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, and Edwin Gould Foundation for Children.