Five key takeaways from Bridging Data Divides: Collaborating for Impact

n May 2025, Data for Social Impact at the Center for Social Development and the Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Science at Washington University in St. Louis hosted “Bridging Data Divides: Collaborating for Impact”. The summit featured 25 speakers across five panels and brought together 225 participants interested in working collaboratively with data across government, philanthropy, nonprofits, universities, and impacted communities. This post identifies five key takeaways.

Do lower wage workers have enough help saving for retirement?

How do parents get their kids to do something they don’t want to do? Sometimes, they offer a reward: Ice cream, 30 minutes of extra screen time, or perhaps cold, hard cash. As adults, when it comes to saving for retirement, self-discipline isn’t enough; we need rewards. In the United States, such rewards come as tax breaks for people who make contributions to employer-sponsored retirement plans or Individual Retirement Accounts. The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 includes a Saver’s Match provision designed to make things fairer for lower income tax filers. This post considers the act’s supports and whether employers have a role to play in helping workers save for retirement.

Retiring with dignity is out of reach for some workers

What will life be like in retirement? How hard will it be to pay the bills if we no longer have a paycheck? Will we have to go back to work? Financial security during retirement is not a given for most workers because Social Security Retirement benefits are typically not enough for retirees to maintain their standard of living without additional sources of support. That’s a big hole in retirement income, which is why the Center for Social Development (CSD) launched the Retirement with Dignity project with support from the Prudential Foundation. Through this project, CSD seeks to understand how lower wage workers might benefit from provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act, which passed in 2022 to give employers new tools to help workers save for retirement.

U.S. workers change jobs frequently. How does that affect retirement savings?

Employer-based retirement savings plans have become a cornerstone of how Americans prepare financially for retirement. However, saving for retirement is a long-term process, and U.S. workers change jobs frequently. What happens to workers’ retirement savings when they change jobs? As part of our Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility survey, we asked low-wage workers what they did with their retirement plans the last time they switched their jobs. In this post, we discuss the findings.

How many low-wage workers are affected by benefits cliffs and asset limits?

Over 40 million workers in the United States—almost a third of all U.S. workers—receive public benefits. Many of these workers face a unique challenge: They would like to earn higher wages, take on more hours, look for better jobs, or save for emergencies. However, doing so may push them over a benefit program’s income or asset limits, causing them to lose eligibility for the program or to experience reductions in the benefits they need to make ends meet. This is called a benefits cliff. This post discusses the ways in which benefits cliffs, asset limits, and other so-called mobility blockers shape workers’ lives.

Access to and Satisfaction with the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program: Differences Across Race, Ethnicity, Income, and Urbanicity among Missouri Residents

Gilbert, A., Frank, T., McDermott, L., Walden, N., Jabbari, J., Roll, S., & Ferris, D. (2025). Access to and satisfaction with the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program: Differences across race, ethnicity, income, and urbanicity among Missouri residents. Food and Nutrition Bulletin. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/03795721251323312

Moving Forward from SECURE 2.0: Building on the Law’s Most Effective Provisions, Closing the Access Gap, and Reforming Social Security

Sprick, E. (with Despard, M., & Roll, S.). (2025). Moving forward from SECURE 2.0: Building on the law’s most effective provisions, closing the access gap, and reforming social security. Bipartisan Policy Center. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/download/?file=/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Moving-Forward-from-SECURE-2.0-BPC-CSD-Report.pdf

Meeting the Grand Challenge to Build Financial Capability and Assets for All; Social Workers: A Ready Workforce for Building Financial Capability in Underserved Households

Sherraden, M. S., Huang, J., & Johnson, L. (2024, July). Meeting the grand challenge to build financial capability and assets for all; Social workers: A ready workforce for building financial capability in underserved households (Policy Brief). Grand Challenges for Social Work. https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/240730-SW-FCAB-workforce_FINAL.pdf

Meeting the Grand Challenge to Build Financial Capability and Assets for All; Strengthen the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Birkenmaier, J., & Huang, J. (2024, July). Meeting the grand challenge to build financial capability and assets for all; Strengthen the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Policy Brief). Grand Challenges for Social Work. https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/240730-CFPB_FCAB_PB_FINAL.pdf

Eliminate Racism, Reduce Extreme Economic Inequality, and Build Financial Capabilities and Assets for All; Universal Child Development Accounts to Develop All Children and Reduce Racial Wealth Inequality

Huang, J., Shanks, T. R., Teasley, M., Spencer, M., & Sherraden, M. (2024, July). Eliminate racism, reduce extreme economic inequality, and build financial capabilities and assets for all; Universal Child Development Accounts to develop all children and reduce racial wealth inequality (Policy Brief). Grand Challenges for Social Work. https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/240730-CDAs_FINAL.pdf

Child Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Advantaged Accounts Benefiting American Children: Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance

Elliott, W. (2024, May). Child Savings Accounts and other tax-advantaged accounts benefiting American children: Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (CSD Perspective No. 24-05). Washington University, Center for Social Development, and University of Michigan, Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion. https://doi.org/10.7936/ezhm-qb08

Fostering Inclusive Policy Research: Embracing a Participatory Approach

By Katie Ragsdale & Katie Kristensen At the Social Policy Institute (SPI), we are deeply committed to fostering inclusive and impactful policy research. We recognize that the traditional top-down approach to policymaking often neglects the voices and experiences of communities and stakeholders most impacted by the problem at hand. Over the past two years, we […]

Participatory Research for Guaranteed Income: In Her Hands

By Katie Ragsdale, Katie Kristensen, Dr. Leah Hamilton, and Dr. Latrice Rollins The Social Policy Institute (SPI) seeks to shift to a participatory approach throughout its research and programming. Our working definition of a participatory approach draws on the theory and practice of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). While CBPR is not always feasible or appropriate […]

Financial Capability and Asset Building: Innovations in Social Protection and Development

Ansong, D., Okumu, M., Huang, J., Sun, S., Huseynli, A., Koomson, I., Chowa, G., Ssewamala, F., Sherraden, M. S., & Sherraden, M. (2023). Financial capability and asset building: innovations in social protection and development. In L. Patel, S. Plagerson, & I Chinyoka (Eds.), Handbook on social protection and social development in the global South (pp. 308–330). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800378421.00033

Connecting the Dots between Barriers to W.I.C. Access and Adult and Child Food Insecurity: A Survey of Missouri Residents

Abstract Background. Previous research has explored the impact of W.I.C. on recipients’ health, but less is known about the connection between barriers to W.I.C. access and health outcomes. We fill in a gap in the literature by studying the relationship between barriers to Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (W.I.C.) access and adult […]

How Did Reskilling During the COVID-19 Pandemic Relate to Entrepreneurship and Optimism? Barriers, Opportunities, and Implications for Equity

Abstract With shorter durations and fewer barriers to entry, reskilling programs may serve as vehicles for social mobility and equity, as well as tools for creating a more adaptive workforce and inclusive economy. Nevertheless, much of the limited large-scale research on these types of programs was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, given the […]

The Case for Early Wealth Building Accounts

Abstract Aspen FSP research on the Future of Wealth has shown that to succeed in the United States economy, people need to enter adulthood–a life stage when many critical investments are made – with a substantial amount of money to invest in themselves and their future. The importance of what we’re calling “investable sums” in young adulthood […]

How Would Americans Respond to Direct Cash Transfers? Results from Two Survey Experiments

Abstract Universal basic income has gained renewed interest among policy makers and researchers in the United States. Although research indicates that unconditional cash transfers produce diverse benefits for households, public support lags in part because of predicted unemployment and frivolous spending. To understand how Americans would reorganize their lives around unconditional cash transfers, this article […]

What It’s Worth: Strengthening the Financial Future of Families

Sherraden, M., & Sherraden, M. S. (2023). What it’s worth: Strengthening the financial future of families. In S. Deng, J. Huang, S. Fang, & X. Zhou (Eds.), 资产建设视角的反贫困社会工作:发展、对话与启示 [Asset-building perspective in anti-poverty social work: Development, dialogue, and insights] (Chap. 13). East China University of Science and Technology Press.

Child Development Accounts

Huang, J., & Zou, L. (2023). Child Development Accounts. In S. Deng, J. Huang, S. Fang, & X. Zhou (Eds.), 资产建设视角的反贫困社会工作:发展、对话与启示 [Asset-building perspective in anti-poverty social work: Development, dialogue, and insights] (Chap. 8). East China University of Science and Technology Press.

Financial Capability

Sherraden, M. S. (2023). Financial capability. In S. Deng, J. Huang, S. Fang, & X. Zhou (Eds.), 资产建设视角的反贫困社会工作:发展、对话与启示 [Asset-building perspective in anti-poverty social work: Development, dialogue, and insights] (Chap. 2). East China University of Science and Technology Press.

Determinants of Asset Building

Beverly, S. G., Sherraden, M., Cramer, R., Shanks, T. R., & Nam, Y. (2023). Determinants of asset building. In S. Deng, J. Huang, S. Fang, & X. Zhou (Eds.), 资产建设视角的反贫困社会工作:发展、对话与启示 [Asset-building perspective in anti-poverty social work: Development, dialogue, and insights] (Chap. 1). East China University of Science and Technology Press.

The Effectiveness of Financial Capability and Asset Building Interventions in Improving Youth’s Educational Well-Being: A Systematic Review

Ansong, D., Okumu, M., Nyon, T., Appiah Kubi, J., Amoako, E. O., Koomson, I., Conklin, J. (2023). The effectiveness of financial capability and asset building interventions in improving youth’s educational well-being: A systematic review. Adolescent Research Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-023-00223-x

COVID-19-Related Fear among Youth in Israel

Abstract The present study sought to expand the now expansive research on COVID-19 by examining COVID-19-related fear among adolescents in Israel, focusing on demographic variables, COVID-19-related variables (e.g., exposure and vaccination), psychosocial variables (e.g., adolescent wellbeing and perceived social support), and technology usage (e.g., amount of time spent on social media). Data from parents were […]

Sarri, Rosemary

Barth, R. P., & Sherraden, M. (2023, July 19). Sarri, Rosemary. In C. Franklin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Social Work (Online ed.). https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1636

Policy, Practice, and Institutional Barriers to Financial Capability and Asset Building Related to Race (Racism) in the United States

Jones, J. L., Birkenmaier, J., Johnson, L., McClendon, G. G., Nam, Y., Huang, J., & Onifade, E. (2023). Policy, practice, and institutional barriers to financial capability and asset building related to race (racism) in the United States. In M. L. Teasley, M. S. Spencer, & M. Bartholomew (Eds.), Social work and the Grand Challenge of Ending Racism: Concepts, theory, and evidence based approaches (Chap. 21). Oxford University Press.

HomeGrown StL 5th Annual Regional Summit on the State of Opportunities for Black Boys and Young Men: Organizing for Solutions That Unleash the Elite Potential of Young Black Males

Joe, S., Clifton, M., & Carlton-Brown, D. (2023, May). HomeGrown StL 5th Annual Regional Summit on the State of Opportunity for Black Boys and Young Men: Organizing for solutions that unleash the elite potential of young Black males (CSD Conference Report No. 23-17). Washington University, Center for Social Development, Race & Opportunity Lab, HomeGrown StL. https://doi.org/10.7936/64jx-0x32

Perceptions of School Quality and Student Learning During the Pandemic: Exploring the Role of Students, Families, Schools, and Neighborhoods

Abstract Given the inequitable distribution of resources across school, neighborhood, and home contexts in the United States, lower resourced students may have had fewer opportunities to learn during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, which may have caused previous disadvantages to accumulate during the pandemic. Nevertheless, research has yet to comprehensively explore how school, neighborhood, and […]

Free Online Course Focuses on Cultivating Collaborative and Equitable Data Practices

Data for Social Impact has launched a free online course for social sector professionals. While many courses develop technical data skills, this course—designed with, by, and for social sector leaders—supports organizations in cultivating equitable, collaborative data practices. Each module includes worksheets, resource lists, and tangible tools for participants, allowing them to bring the conversation back […]

“It helped us more than I could have imagined”: How the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit Supported Families Raising Children with Disabilities

Summary The 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) provided temporary enhancements to the existing CTC for the tax years 2021 and 2022. Under the expanded credit, families with children under the age of 18 were eligible to receive a credit of up to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for children under the age of 6). In […]

Coping with COVID-19: Differences in hope, resilience, and mental well-being across U.S. racial groups

Abstract Objectives To explore if the COVID-19 pandemic revealed differences across racial groups in coping, resilience, and optimism, all of which have implications for health and mental well-being. Methods We collect data obtained from four rounds of a national sample of 5,000 US survey respondents in each round from April 2020 to February 2021. Using […]

Does Frequency or Amount Matter? An Exploratory Analysis the Perceptions of Four Universal Basic Income Proposals

Abstract Advocates for a Universal Basic Income (UBI) argue that it would provide citizens with a basic foundation for financial security, boost the economy, alleviate poverty, encourage entrepreneurship, reduce crime, and insulate the employment sector against job losses due to automation. Still, the idea lags in popularity in the United States compared to existing cash […]

Emergency Savings among Persistently Poor Households: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Abstract Low-income households struggle to accumulate emergency savings, which increases economic vulnerability in the face of unexpected events like expensive car repairs. This vulnerability may be even greater among persistently low-income households, which might benefit most from building emergency savings using tax refunds. This study examined the effects of randomly assigned behavioral interventions that incorporated […]

Implementation of Flexibilities to the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and Their Impact on Schools in Missouri

Abstract Background: In 2018, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued flexibilities to the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, relaxing the nutrition standards for milk, whole grains, and sodium. This study examines the implementation decision-making among Missouri school food services and the impact of implementing these flexibilities on the meals served. Methods: We […]