The Smart Decarceration Initiative has launched a two-year research project to advance “deferred prosecution” programs, thanks to funding from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.
Smart Decarceration starts research on ‘deferred prosecution’
Author: Jill
D.C. forum highlights international volunteer service
Hosted by Brookings and the Building Bridges Coalition, the June 14 event in Washington, D.C., was the 10th anniversary forum on the role of volunteers in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and on the coalition’s impact research.
CSD leaders chart best practices for Israel’s new CDAs
Building on a longtime working history, leadership from the Center for Social Development formally advised the Israeli government in May on best practices for implementing the country’s new law to confer universal savings accounts on children born in Israel. The law takes effect in January 2017.
Sherraden receives honorary doctorate from Hebrew University
CSD Director Michael Sherraden was awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy in May at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Policy conference takes on race and inequality
More than 100 people converged on Washington University in St. Louis for Influencing Social Policy’s 2016 national conference, “Race and Inequality: Policy & Advocacy for Structural Change.”
Officials in Ghana hear YouthSave findings, explore next steps
Top Ghana officials, representatives from more than 20 financial institutions and practitioners met in April in Accra, Ghana, to learn about YouthSave research findings and how they could encourage young people to open bank accounts and save.
CSD research reveals racial disparities in education debt
New research from the Center for Social Development at Washington University showed that low- to moderate-income black students and graduates accrued $7,721 more education debt than their white counterparts.
Senators propose ‘Rainy Day’ act to urge Americans to save
Just days before this year’s April 18 tax filing deadline, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) proposed a plan to encourage Americans to build emergency funds.
Peter Nares, Prosper Canada founder, drove asset building, financial literacy
Social entrepreneur Peter Nares, the founder of Prosper Canada and longtime friend of the Center for Social Development, died on April 5. He was 66.
CSD celebrates, highlights global partners’ work in Asia, Africa
We are pleased to share news from and highlight ongoing collaborations with our global partners the Centre for Social Development Asia, at the National University of Singapore, and the Centre for Social Development in Africa, at the University of Johannesburg.
All babies building assets: Singapore expands Child Development Accounts
The Singapore government announced on March 24 that it significantly expanded Child Development Accounts as of that date.
With decreased costs, families get more from MOST 529 college savings plan
Families’ costs have decreased for Missouri’s MOST 529 college savings plan, and now there is no minimum deposit required to open an account.
New CSD initiative explores inequality and racism in America
The Collaboration on Race, Inequality, and Social Mobility in America examines the impact of inequality and structural racism on people of color in our country.
‘Acorn Fund’ to seed college accounts for Salem City, N.J., students
Every student in public, private and home schools in Salem City, N.J., will have access to a seed deposit in a 529 college savings account starting in April, officials announced.
Experts explore how to urge Americans to save part of tax refund
In the midst of the 2016 tax season, leaders from philanthropy, policy, practice and academia convened in at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for a symposium about using tax time to build Americans’ financial capability.
CSD announces Shanti Khinduka Research Fellowship for Social Innovation
Dean Khinduka built the modern research-oriented George Warren Brown School of Social Work. He is also a dedicated leader committed to furthering the social work profession.
Brown School, CSD play large role in launch of Grand Challenges
An ambitious call to action on pressing social problems in America was issued January 14 at the Society for Social Work and Research annual conference in Washington, D.C.
Tax preparer’s toolkit shows why tax time is great time for families to save
The Volunteer Income Tax Preparer’s Toolkit: Showing Clients Why Tax Time is the Right Time to Save is a communications and resource guide for tax preparers on encouraging clients to save a part of their refund at tax time.
Purnell: Truths from King apply to ‘this time of uncommon change’
On January 18, Purnell delivered remarks titled “Ancient virtues for modern times: Lessons from the life of Martin Luther King” at the 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration at Washington University.
FCAB meeting in D.C. features experts from government, academia
Nearly 50 scholars, educators, researchers and macro social work practitioners met in January in Washington, D.C., for the convening on Financial Capability & Asset Building: Moving Forward.
Inquiry. Innovation. Impact. Report offers overview of CSD’s work, plans
Our newly published Report to the Community provides an updated overview of the Center for Social Development’s work and plans.
How Israel implements child accounts will be crucial
Michal Grinstein-Weiss, associate director of the Center for Social Development, spent part of December traveling in Israel on an important mission: to spread the word about how Israel can best implement its new law to provide universal child savings accounts known in the United States as Child Development Accounts, to all newborns.
New book offers hope for ailing American family finances
“What It’s Worth: Strengthening the Financial Future of Families, Communities and the Nation” includes 40 essays by the nation’s leading experts on economics, financial services, public policy and philanthropy from across a broad range of sectors.
St. Louis treasurer officially launches college savings for kindergarteners
Every kindergartner enrolled this year in St. Louis City public and charter schools is receiving a college savings account, Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones said at the official launch of the College Kids program.
Israel adopts savings accounts for children based on CSD recommendation
Israel’s parliament has passed a law funding long-term savings accounts for all newborns, based on a proposal developed by Michal Grinstein-Weiss, associate director of the Center for Social Development, and on research efforts led by Michael Sherraden, director of CSD.
Spotlight: ‘Scholarship for social change’ is Metzger’s modus operandi
When Molly Metzger was a PhD student, the time came for her to draft research questions for her dissertation. She drew a blank. After three years in classrooms, she felt out of touch with her topic: low-income housing.
Treasury launches national myRA retirement plan
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced the national launch of the myRA program, a government-backed retirement plan for people who don’t have access to a retirement savings plan at work or who haven’t found an easy enough way to save.
New report explores global lessons from youth savings
In 2010, researchers in the vast YouthSave Initiative started investigating whether low-income youth can build savings in the developing countries of Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Nepal. Now their findings are summarized in a newly released report.
Event on Child Development Accounts draws crowd from 24 states
More than 100 people gathered in St. Louis in October to hear leading experts discuss the latest research, funding, program and account-structure ideas in the growing field of Child Development Accounts.
Expert: We must understand racial segregation’s history to remedy it
Warning that “we are going to see many more Fergusons in this country,” Richard Rothstein recounts the history of government’s role in racial segregation, in a video created for our event “Inclusive Housing: A Public Forum for Policy Action in St. Louis.”
Public forum aims to reshape housing policy in St. Louis metro
Despite the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, stark racial and economic segregation in housing continues. On Oct. 22, the Center for Social Development and the Clark-Fox Policy Institute hosted “Inclusive Housing: A Public Forum for Policy Action in St. Louis.”
Author: Millions of American struggle on $2 a day
A woman in Tennessee sells her plasma twice a week to help her family of four survive. She has little cash, about $2 a day, but she has a lot of company. The number of families living on $2 per person, per day, has soared to 1.5 million American households, including about 3 million children.
‘Taking the bank to the youth’ proves fruitful, researchers find
YouthSave researchers gathered recently in Washington, D.C., to discuss what they learned over five years about how to provide scalable saving mechanisms to low-income youth—and what their findings could mean for youth development and financial inclusion.
‘Our goal is to substantially reduce incarceration rates’
Answering the call to participate in the Smart Decarceration Initiative’s first conference, about 150 people from throughout the country gathered September 24-27 at Washington University in St. Louis to work on redefining justice in America.
$1.06M federal grant for St. Louis YouthBuild expands chances for at-risk youth
The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday confirmed a grant to St. Louis YouthBuild of $1.06 million to support academic and occupational skills training for at-risk youth. Washington University is is a partner with YouthBuild, a relationship that was seeded by an event early this year initiated by the Center for Social Development.
Ever the professor, Oliver gives audience a reading list
Melvin L. Oliver, PhD, a nationally recognized expert on racial and urban inequality, delivered a major speech Wednesday at Washington University in St. Louis, interspersing it with more than a dozen books he recommends.
Ferguson Commission calls for Child Development Accounts
The Ferguson Commission in its report released this week called for universal Child Development Accounts that are statewide and automatic.
CSD spotlight: The Smart Decarceration Initiative
The United States faces the tremendous challenge of reducing its overreliance on prisons and jails. As the social and economic costs of incarceration rise, great need—and opportunity—exists to reverse the trend. The new Smart Decarceration Initiative, based at the Center for Social Development, is taking up the challenge.
Israel’s proposed budget includes CSD plan for Child Development Accounts
Israel’s parliament will consider a state budget this fall that includes funding for long-term savings accounts for all newborns, a proposal authored by Michal Grinstein-Weiss, PhD, the associate director of the Center for Social Development, and based on research efforts led by Michael Sherraden, PhD, the director of CSD.
IDA experiment reveals financial peril facing low-income families
An experimental Individual Development Account had no effect on whether participants opened a retirement account or on the adequacy of their retirement savings, according to a newly published article in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.
CSD joins launch of Campaign for Every Kid’s Future
At the Center for Social Development, we believe that financial security should be lifelong, starting at birth and extending from childhood through adulthood. Today CSD is proud to join CFED and more than a dozen other partners in launching the Campaign for Every Kid’s Future.
Article illuminates savings of Sub-Saharan Africa’s youth
Most young people in Sub-Saharan Africa are not saving money, and an article in the journal Global Social Welfare explains what helps or hurts them in their efforts.
College: Why the 529 platform works for Child Development Accounts
In the United States, the largest Child Development Account (CDA) programs have been built on existing college savings plans, often called 529 plans after the relevant section of the Internal Revenue Code.
Sherraden receives Richard Lodge Prize
CSD Director Michael Sherraden, PhD, was awarded the Richard Lodge Prize for 2015. He received the prize on May 8 at the Adelphi University School of Social Work’s annual Alumni and Friends Day.
What ‘We’re Social’ means on CSD’s site
If you’ve ever wondered about the green icons on the top and bottom of CSD’s website pages, here’s a quick explanation.
Steuerle: Make the 21st Century the century of the child
A well-known economist, Dr. Steuerle is an Urban Institute fellow and co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy.
Tax-time savings programs help low-income families save refunds, study finds
Tax-time savings programs help low- and moderate-income families save significantly more of their refunds than those who choose not to participate, finds an analysis of such a program called $aveNYC.
FCAB speaker: Understand poor families, then create financial innovations
People in the field of social work are crucial to broadening how to think about the poor and their financial decision making, Camille Busette, PhD, said in the keynote speech at the 2015 Convening on Financial Capability & Asset Building: Advancing Education, Research, and Practice in Social Work.
Professor Putnam sounds alarm for ‘our kids’
Robert Putnam grew up in Port Clinton, Ohio. Back then, in the 1950s, children from both sides of the tracks in his working-class town went to school together, played sports together, knew each other and watched out for each other.
Journal: Start children early for financial success
The Great Recession exposed the financial fragility of millions of American families. Now researchers and policymakers are striving to improve the next generation’s grasp of personal finance and its access to safe financial products.