Category: News from CSD

CSD and Partners Launch New Multinational Collaboration in Africa

Mobile phones have become commonplace in sub-Saharan Africa. There, as in other parts of the world, financial technology has proliferated with the expansion of digital access, opening new doors to financial products and services. But this emerging landscape requires financial acumen, and sound guidance can be hard to find.

On July 15, a multinational group of partners gathered virtually to mark the launch of Financial Capability and Asset Building in Africa (FCAB Africa), a new collaboration aimed at meeting these needs.

St. Louis marks national voting event with teach-in, mayoral proclamation

As she stood at the podium, Gena Gunn McClendon considered the moment. “We’re here to learn. We’re here to teach,” she told those gathered on Saturday, May 8. McClendon, director of the Voter Access and Engagement Initiative with the Center for Social Development in the Brown School at Washington University, leads research to identify voting […]

At Conference, Leaders Call for Financial Capability and Asset Building Curriculum in All Schools of Social Work

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens America’s already deep income and wealth divides, how can financial capability be increased for vulnerable families? What role can social workers play? To take up these questions, more than 100 scholars and practitioners gathered virtually on February 25 for “Theory, Evidence, Education, and Practice in FCAB,” Part 2 of the convening “Financial […]

Huang Delivers First Nationwide Financial Capability Training for Social Workers in China

On January 30, Center for Social Development (CSD) research associate professor Jin Huang delivered the first national financial capability training for Chinese social workers. Speaking to more than 800 attendees, Huang discussed broadening the term “financial literacy” to the concept of “financial capability,” or having both the knowledge to make optimal financial decisions and also […]

New CSD Report Celebrates over 25 Years in the Community

In 2021, the Center for Social Development (CSD) celebrates over 25 years of inquiry, innovation and impact. The newly published report, In the Community, highlights our work’s advancements and illustrates directions in ongoing and future work in St. Louis, the United States and around the world. Founded in 1994, CSD continues to generate pathbreaking innovations in […]

Panel Examines Ways to Enable Convicted Felons Who Have Served Their Time to Rejoin Society

Enabling felons who have completed their sentences to return to productive lives was the theme of a Congressional Briefing conducted online on December 2. The briefing was hosted by the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP) and the Center for Social Development. Moderated by Charles Lewis Jr. of CRISP, Undoing Racism by […]

CSD Initiative Sends Volunteers to Monitor Polls on Nov. 3

Dozens of Brown School students, staff and faculty volunteered at polls across the St. Louis region November 3, helping voters to cast their ballots in what would turn out to be the largest vote total in U.S. history and the highest turnout rate since 1900.

As nation struggles, conference sets sights on equity and financial inclusion

From across a nation struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic and a generally difficult year, over 150 scholars and practitioners gathered virtually on September 21 for “FCAB Policies: Race and Inequality in the COVID-19 Era,” Part 1 of the two-part convening “Financial Capability and Asset Building: Achievements, Challenges, and Next Steps.” They gathered to set an […]

Sun Awarded Aron Doctoral Fellowship by NASW Foundation

Sicong (Summer) Sun, a PhD candidate at the Brown School, has been selected as the 2020-21 Jane B. Aron/Social Work HEALS Doctoral Fellow by the National Association of Social Workers Foundation.

Panel: Social Workers Can Make a Difference in a New Vision of Public Order

Four experts on policing told a congressional briefing on June 30 that the values and training of social workers can be useful tools in re-imagining the nation’s approach to public order and reducing racist violence of police. The online briefing, Black Lives Matter: Social Work and the Future of Policing, was sponsored by the Congressional […]

Zeng, Despard and Fox-Dichter receive award from National Endowment for Financial Education

In May, the National Endowment for Financial Education honored CSD Research Associate Yingying Zeng with an award for “Workplace Financial Counseling: Credit Outcomes Among Lower-Paid, Entry-Level Workers,” a paper she wrote with Mathieu Despard and Sophia Fox-Dichter. Zeng has been working on financial well-being issues since she came to the United States in 2015. As […]

New Book Charts Global Progress of Child Development Accounts

Nearly 30 years after the publication of Michael Sherraden’s seminal Assets and the Poor, Child Development Account (CDA) policies and programs are emerging across the globe. Now, a new book edited by Jin Huang, Li Zou and Sherraden showcases the global context of those advancements.

For Black History Month, McClendon Highlights Voting Rights at Numerous Events

With the presidential election looming this year, voting is as important as ever. For Black History Month, Gena Gunn McClendon, director of CSD’s Voter Access and Engagement initiative, participated in numerous events to discuss voter suppression and the crucial importance of the black vote.

In Landmark Publication, Sherraden and Colleagues Laud Partnership between Washington University and Universities in China

In 2018, China celebrated its 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of social work in the country. Both that year and in 2019, Center for Social Development (CSD) Director Michael Sherraden provided keynote addresses for conferences at Peking University (PKU) in Beijing. Emphasizing the importance of longstanding partnerships between Washington University and China, Sherraden said they […]

McClendon Receives Andrew Young Award

For her work, Dr. Gena Gunn McClendon has been honored with the Ambassador Andrew J. Young Award for Outstanding Ethics, Service, and Commitment to Family and Community.

Friedman: Spark Prosperity for Everyone to Close the Racial Wealth Gap

Robert E. Friedman believes we can close the racial wealth divide in a generation. “I believe in the promise of this country … and in this community. St. Louis has become a symbol to the country of the results of racial inequity, and I think it’s leading the way to close the racial wealth divide, and to let America live up to its ideals.”

Sawhill: Big-Impact Research, Data Access Needed to Help Working Class

Courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Isabel Sawhill thinks too many researchers are more interested in publishing papers than making sure their work has major impact. “An awful lot of researchers are not asking the right questions,” says Sawhill, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. “We need to push scholars to do more research on big questions.”

In St. Louis, Differences in Voting Conditions by Race, Income

Research from the Center for Social Development shows that where voters live can influence their ability to vote. “In volunteering at the polls, I noticed that equipment malfunctions and other issues seemed relatively common at some sites, explained Gena Gunn McClendon, director of CSD’s Voter Access and Engagement initiative and a co-author of “Will I […]

Second Voter Engagement Summit Brings Leaders to the Brown School

On September 12 at the Brown School, representatives from regional universities, Missouri and Illinois election board members and community organizations convened for the second Campus and Community Voter Engagement Summit. “The summit presented opportunities for key stakeholders to have a dialogue about the significance of strategies that promote student participation in voting and the importance […]

Illinois Approves Child Development Accounts for All Newborns

Illinois state capitol, Springfield, Illinois

Illinois became the most recent state in the U.S. to adopt universal Child Development Accounts on August 23, when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation to open a 529 college savings plan account with deposits for every child born or adopted in Illinois after Dec. 31, 2020.

Rigged: Second Screening Brings Voter Suppression Discussion to the Community

Awareness about voter suppression is gaining momentum, in part through screenings of “Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook.” Building on a positive response to the first screening on Washington University’s campus, the Center for Social Development’s Voter Access and Engagement (VAE) project collaborated with community partners to host a second screening on August 3, 2019 at […]

Nebraska Approves Universal, At-Birth CDA Policy

Nebraska’s legislature today approved a universal Child Development Account (CDA) policy that will cover every resident born in the state on or after January 1, 2020.

CSD Event: Film Explores the Fleecing of Voters’ Rights

More than 100 guests turned out Wednesday afternoon for a screening of the documentary “Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook.” “Voter suppression is wrong, and it’s real,” Mac Heller, the documentary’s executive producer, said before the show. The event at the Brown School was a joint effort between the Voter Access and Engagement (VAE) initiative and […]

New Research Institute Explores the Intersection of Social Work and Criminal Justice at FSU

FSU has launched a new research institute aimed at advancing science, policy and practice to improve the well-being of individuals, families and communities impacted by the criminal justice system. The Institute for Justice Research and Development was founded and is directed by Carrie Pettus-Davis, Associate Professor at FSU and CSD Faculty Director of the Smart Decarceration Initiative.

Doctoral Candidate Receives Grants to Study Racism-Based Trauma

Robert Motley Jr., manager of the Center for Social Development’s Race and Opportunity Lab, has received a two-year $60,936 grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and a $5,000 grant from the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation.

Scholars gather for ‘Race at the Forefront,’ CRISMA’s inaugural conference

More than 225 people from various parts of the country gathered at the Brown School for the Collaboration on Race, Inequality, and Social Mobility in America’s inaugural conference March 28-29. The event, entitled “Race at the Forefront: Sharpening a Focus on Race in Applied Research,” brought together scholars who are working toward the elimination of […]

Azerbaijan ministry recognizes student for development of social work

Brown School doctoral student Aytakin Huseynli has received a national award in recognition of her contribution to the development of social work in Azerbaijan, her home country. The Ministry of Women, Family and Children Affairs in Azerbaijan gave her the award on March 7. Or, rather, the ministry presented it to her mother in Aytakin’s […]

Special issue highlights Child Development Accounts globally

Child Development Accounts take center stage in a newly released special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development. The sweeping, seven-article issue shows the global context of the emerging asset-building policy. “Many countries are exploring new policy innovations that encourage asset building,” said Michael Sherraden, who co-edited the issue and co-authored […]