SEED Policy and Research

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• SEED Policy and Research
• Lisa Reyes Mason
• Margaret Clancy
• Center for Social Development
• CWD Asset Development and Financial Literacy
• Task Force Conference Call
• July 10, 2007

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SEED Overview

• Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship and
  Downpayment (SEED) is a policy, practice and
  research initiative
• Models, tests and informs policy for a national
  system of asset-building accounts for children
  and youth, also known as Child Development
  Accounts (CDAs)

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SEED Research Sites

• Community-based projects 11 sites, 800
  accounts, different ages, savings incentives,
  financial education, financial institutions,
  multiple research methods
• Pre-school impact assessment 500 accounts and
  500 comparisons in Head Start programs in
  Michigan
• SEED for Oklahoma Kids (formerly Universal
  Model) experiment 1,500 accounts and 1,500
  controls in Oklahoma

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SEED National Partners

• Center for Social Development (CSD)
• CFED
• New America Foundation
• University of Kansas School of Social Welfare
• Initiative on Financial Security of the Aspen
  Institute

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SEED Account Monitoring Programs

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SEED Account Structures

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SEED Participant and Caregiver Characteristics

• Participants
• 78 are children of color
• 72 are age 3 to 9
• Caregivers
• 62 are employed
• 44 have a high school diploma or less

Measured at enrollment
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SEED Household Characteristics

• 36 have one adult in the home
• About half have gross income below 100 of the
  federal poverty level
• 38 receive food stamps 11 TANF
• 13 receive SSI or SSDI
• 37 own homes
• 68 are banked

Measured at enrollment
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Total SEED Accumulation

1.5 million at December 31, 2006. Includes any
benchmarks deposited into accounts.
N1,253
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SEED for Oklahoma Kids

• An experiment with random selection of
  participants and controls within a population
• Integrated into an existing policy
  structureOklahoma College Savings Plan (529
  plan)
• To every possible extent, scalable in the form
  that it is tested

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SEED for Oklahoma Kids contd

• Designed to test the idea of universal and
  progressive accounts at birth
• Research will consist of an Experiment, Account
  Monitoring, and In-depth interviews
• Informed by KU research team experience and work
  on impact assessment at OLHSA

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Key Features

• Deposits of 1,000 into the accounts of 1,500
  infants selected at random, with matching
  deposits up to an additional 1,000 for
  low-income families
• Expanded samples of African Americans, Latinos,
  and American Indians
• Track 1,500 treatments and 1,500 controls over
  seven years, with surveys at three points in time

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Highlights of State of Oklahoma Role

• Contribute to the initiative design prior to
  implementation
• Provide birth record and state income tax data
• Accept SEED initial and matching deposits into a
  state-owned account, and calculate match
  allocations
• Collaborate with CSD on project implementation
  and management

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Selected Goalsof SEED for Oklahoma Kids

• Define fundamental CDA policy features and set a
  direction
• Use an existing policy structure that has the
  potential for scale
• Assess patterns and correlates of saving
• Test impacts on subpopulations by race/ethnicity
  

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Potential Policy Impacts

• Models and makes visible a universal account at
  birth
• Connects with Child Trust Fund concept in United
  Kingdom
• Builds on 529 savings plan structure (not
  merely a saving product)
• Informs future 529 and plan-based policy
  developments

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Possible Task Force Connectionswith CDAs

• Are there provisions to consider for children or
  youth with disabilities?
• How might CDAs affect disability payments?
• How might CWD and the Task Force connect with
  CDA policy?
• Other considerations?

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SEED Funders
Ford Foundation Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation Jim Casey
Youth Opportunity Initiative Citigroup
Foundation Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
MetLife Foundation Richard and Rhoda Goldman
Fund Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund Lumina
Foundation for Education and Edwin Gould
Foundation for Children

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Resources and Contact Information
http//gwbweb.wustl.edu/csd
lmason_at_wustl.edu 314-935-9497