Rural America: Historical Overview

This paper provides a historical overview of rural America. To understand the dynamics of rural areas today, we have to understand how they evolved. Demographic trends, economic factors, and government policies have all contributed to the current state of development in rural areas. The impact of each of these aspects has shaped and influenced rural areas in their own unique way. This paper examines the role of all three aspects. a definition of rural is also included

The history and status of children\u27s allowances: Policy background for Children\u27s Savings Accounts

The history and status of children\u27s allowances: Policy background for Children\u27s Savings Account

Increasing Life Chances for Orphaned Children in Africa: Testing an Asset-Based Development Strategy

Increasing Life Chances for Orphaned Children in Africa: Testing an Asset-Based Development Strateg

Annual Report on the ASSET Project\u27s Head Start Family Financial Capability Pilot: 2014–2015

Since the Great Recession (December 2007–2009 in the United States), poverty has compromised many families and increased the prevalence of young children living in neighborhoods of concentrated, deep poverty. However, financial literacy interventions have reported promising outcomes for influencing financial choices and financial knowledge, highlighting the potential of such programs for improving the economic positions of families and children. This report presents results from a mixed-methods evaluation of a financial literacy intervention with Head Start families in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The intervention combines savings incentives and one-on-one coaching with 10 hours of financial education on debt management, banking, budgeting, and credit. Results from 2 years of data suggest that participants’ understanding of core financial concepts, financial attitudes, and financial management behaviors increased after participation. Participants also noted that they gained insight on how to maximize available resources and achieve their financial goals

Individual Development Accounts in Rural Communities: Implications for Research

Individual Development Accounts in Rural Communities: Implications for Researc

Head Start Family Financial Capability: 2013–2014 Annual Report of the Asset Project

Head Start Family Financial Capability: 2013–2014 Annual Report of the Asset Projec

Asset-Building in Rural Communities: The Experience of Individual Asset Accounts

Similar to the beginning of many new eras, the dawning of the 21st century has brought new opportunities as well as new challenges to the stability of our economy. New technology offers more efficient methods of production while the continuing influence of globalization increases market availability for our goods. Yet, when a region has a hard time transitioning to a new economy, the challenges produced by these changes are often overwhelming and can create hardship. Rural America is currently facing many of the difficulties associated with these changing economies, thus affecting their current economic sustainability and development. The industry base change from manufacturing to service in the late half of the 20th century produced high unemployment rates from the loss of factory jobs and although the new service base created jobs, most were low-wage with minimal or no benefits (Falk and Lobao, 1995). Furthermore, because of the differences in economic resources, population and geography, rural areas are highly diverse (Oakerson, 1995). These conditions only added to the rising poverty rates for rural areas. While the rural poverty rate, as well as the national poverty, began to decline after reaching a high of 17.3 percent in 1993, it has since began to rise again and in 2002 stood at 14.2 percent. Furthermore, rural poverty rates have historically been higher than urban poverty rates, leaving rural communities at even more of a disadvantage (Economic Research Service, 2004). One policy approach being discussed in current dialogues is wealth creation (asset building). Some researchers have suggested that asset building in rural areas might be a viable solution to help reduce poverty and increase economic assets in these regions (Dorward, Anderson, Clark, Keane, & Moguel, 2001; Curley & Grinstein-Weiss, 2003). The purpose of this study is to examine the performance of rural participants in an assets building program – the Individual Development Account (IDA). IDAs are matched savings accounts for low-income households, where the savings are used for specific purposes including home purchase, post-secondary education, and microenterprise

Annual Report on the Head Start Family Financial Capability Program: 2015–2016

This report presents results from a mixed-methods evaluation of the third year of implementation of a financial-capability program with Head Start families in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area: The Head Start Family Financial Capability (HSFFC) Program. The program combined savings incentives, budget and credit counseling, and one-on-one coaching with 10 hours of financial education on debt management, banking, budgeting, saving, and credit. The results reported here come from analyses of data on 339 adult program participants from Head Start families, 107 Head Start staff who participated in the program, and administrators and staff implementing the program at Head Start sites. The analyses of Year-3 quantitative data suggest that participants’ understanding of core financial concepts, financial attitudes, and financial behavior increased after participation. Qualitative results indicated that participants gained insight on effective ways to recruit participants and connect to resources. Participants identified a shift toward a financial oasis: The HSFFC Program helped their center to make a cultural shift toward increased openness to discuss money management and financial goals. Also included are results from analysis of survey data from a subset of participants pursuing higher education. Results suggest that their status as student-parents exposed them to heightened levels of financial stress, including stress over student loan debt

The History and Status of Children\u27s Allowances: Policy Background for Children\u27s Savings Accounts

Children’s allowances, a common feature of twentieth century welfare states, are cash grants to families with children. The concept of a government-provided monthly cash benefit to foster income security for all children has never had widespread political appeal. This report traces the history of children’s allowances in other nations to see what can be learned about child support policies

A Comparative Analysis of Rural and Urban Saving Performance in Individual Development Accounts

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors of savings outcomes for rural and urban participants in IDA programs. Multivariate analyses by residency were used to explore the experiences of rural and urban participants. a short survey among rural IDA administrators in ADD was used to identify the challenges associated with managing IDAs in these regions. Finally, conclusions and policy implications are presented