Our greatest resources are our children and our capacity to work together. In this context, the key to a successful future—for ourselves and the planet—is developing everyone to the fullest possible extent. Clarity about this basic goal is very much needed, because society throws away enormous potential in human and social capital. We do this by tolerating extreme inequality, racism, inadequate education, child exploitation, and other forms of exclusion. This is not just morally wrong. In very practical terms, it is also unwise neglect of valuable resources. We have not yet built the institutions to realize the potential of the whole society, beginning with all of our children. How can we do better?
This is one in a series or briefs developed in conjunction with the Financial Independence policy conference held on September 16 and 17, 2024, in Washington, DC. The convening was hosted by the Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, the Center for Social Development, the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania, and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan. Support for the conference and subsequent publications came from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, and the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work. For the conference report and links to other briefs in this series, visit https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/25210
Project: SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK)
Citation
Sherraden, M., Clancy, M. M., Huang, J., Shanks, T., & Elliott, W. (2024). Inclusive children’s accounts: Toward lifelong asset building for all (Conference Brief). University of Michigan, School of Social Work, Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion. https://doi.org/10.7302/24440