Assets, Economic Opportunity, and Toxic Stress: A Framework for Understanding Child and Educational Outcomes

Child health, educational attainment, and family socioeconomic status are inextricably linked. We introduce a model that ties together research drawn from the fields of economics, education, psychology, sociology, medicine, epidemiology, neuroscience, public health and biostatistics. Organized around an integrated conceptual paradigm of environmental, economic, familial and psychosocial pathways, we demonstrate various ways SES alters the performance of biological systems, thereby affecting family interaction, stress, school success, and child outcomes

Parental expectations and educational outcomes for young African American adults: Do household assets matter?

African American children are more likely to be poor and live in households that are ‘‘asset poor,’’ with no or very little net worth. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its Child Development Supplement, this article explores whether living in a household with net worth above the sample median seems to promote educational success and the development of human capital over time, irrespective of income. Controlling for parental income and education, as well as gender, household wealth in the form of net worth was the best predictor of parental expectations, high school completion, and college enrollment for young African American adults. A brief discussion of possible asset-building policy options follows.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64276/1/Parental_expectations_and_educational_outcomes_for_young_African_American_adults.pd

Determinants of Asset Building

Determinants of Asset Buildin

Assessing Asset Data on Low-Income Households

Assessing Asset Data on Low-Income Household

Homeownership and parenting practices: Evidence from the community advantage panel

This study examines whether there is a significant relationship between homeownership and engaged parenting practices among low- and moderate-income households. Using analytic methods which account for selection effects and clustering, we test whether homeownership can act as a protective factor against parental disengagement from children. Controlling for individual characteristics, analyses demonstrate that homeowners are more likely than renters to demonstrate engaged parenting behaviors such as organizing structured activities for their children. While renters are more likely to read to their children, the children of homeowners spend less time watching television and playing video games. Implications for low-income housing policy are discussed in light of these findings

Do Single Mothers in the United States use the Earned Income Tax Credit to Reduce Unsecured Debt?

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable credit for low-income workers that is mainly targeted at families with children. This study uses the Survey of Income and Program Participation’s (SIPP) topical modules on Assets & Liabilities to examine the effects of EITC expansions during the early 1990s on the unsecured debt of the households of single mothers. We use two difference-in-differences comparisons over the study period 1988 to 1999, first comparing single mothers to single childless women, and then comparing single mothers with two or more children to single mothers with exactly one child. In both cases we find that the EITC expansions are associated with a relative decline in the unsecured debt of affected households of single mothers. This suggests that single mothers may have used part of their EITC to limit the growth of their unsecured debt during this period.#1 U01AE000002-02 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NSF # 113150

Assets and child well-being in developed countries

Although there is no universal approach to offering Child Development Accounts (CDAs), this paper introduces a framework for an age-based conceptual model that describes how such accounts might influence indicators of child well-being. With a focus on optimal age-appropriate development beginning at birth and ranging through young adulthood, the model incorporates research from multiple disciplines to include direct effects, indirect effects and critical milestones. We review empirical evidence from national datasets (primarily from the United States, but including research from other developed countries) to provide a context for this framework. This conceptual and empirical backdrop provides a starting point from which to critique key dimensions of CDA policy and consider potential implications of such an approach. Suggestions for future research are offered.Assets Wealth Income Children Child development accounts

Research on Assets for Children and Youth : Reflections on the Past and Prospects for the Future

Research on Assets for Children and Youth : Reflections on the Past and Prospects for the Futur

Research on assets for children and youth: Reflections on the past and prospects for the future

This article evolved from a presentation on research challenges and opportunities in asset building for children and youth at a symposium on Child Development Accounts in late 2008. Our presentation was part of a panel entitled "Reflections and Conclusions" on the final day of the symposium. We believe the presentation was well placed because, together, we have many years of experience as asset scholars. We are also able to reflect on where the field has been, and imagine some of the challenges ahead, from diverse perspectives since we have played different roles in the work to introduce and study asset-building policies and programs in local, state, tribal, national, and international contexts. We do not believe, however, that we leave readers with "conclusions" so much as a list of pressing theoretical questions and a review of some methodological challenges for asset researchers that must be tackled as we take asset scholarship into the future.Assets Children Child development accounts CDAs Poverty Theory