When every dollar is spent on necessities like diapers, gasoline and utilities, saving for college may be the furthest thing from a new parent’s mind. Mothers participating in a research study, however, suggest that a college savings account with $1,000 makes them feel optimistic about their children’s postsecondary education.
Asset-building scholars, policymakers, and foundations gathered earlier this month in Washington, DC to celebrate the 21st anniversary of “Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy.”
In Assets and the Poor, Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, writes that asset accumulation is structured and subsidized for many non-poor households, primarily via retirement accounts and home ownership.
Evidence supporting the link between savings and college success is growing. Three studies out of the Center for Social Development at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis offer a connection between assets and college enrollment and completion.
San Francisco Treasurer Jose Cisneros and Michael Sherraden, director of the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, spoke at a media and policy briefing at the National Press Club on Sept. 21
Child Development Accounts are savings accounts that begin as early as birth. CDAs allow parents and children to accumulate savings for post-secondary education, homeownership or business initiatives.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis devoted a feature article in the spring issue of its publication, Bridges, to Child Development Accounts, an innovative tool for making long-term investments in children.
The Center for Social Development announces the publication of the March 2009 SEED Account Monitoring research report.
Subtitled “The movement to give every American a trust fund at birth,” the article summarizes the case for a universal children’s savings account.