Compass Financial Stability and Savings Program Pilot Evaluation
Progress Report of the Massachusetts Asset Development Commission
The Promise of Asset Development Policies: Individual Development Accounts
This IASP report presents findings on the implementation and early outcomes of Compass Working Capital’s Financial Stability and Savings (Compass FSS) program pilot. Aimed at helping low-income families save and build assets, the Compass FSS program is an innovative new model for the HUD Family Self-Sufficiency program. It is distinguished by the provision of financial education and coaching and asset building strategies to help families achieve economic security through savings and sound financial practices. This report represents the first of three reports for the multi-year evaluation. Although the outcomes of the Compass FSS pilot will not be fully realized for several years, the initial results are very encouraging. Aided by an extensive planning phase and a strong partnership with the local housing authority, the Compass FSS program has had a number of early successes. Most notably, the program has realized impressive results in recruitment, enrollment and retention, and positive participant outcomes in income, savings and credit, as well as improvements in financial confidence and economic well-being.
Appointed by Governor Patrick and the legislature in early 2008, the Massachusetts Asset Development Commission brought together multiple and diverse stakeholders to explore statewide asset building opportunities. Its Final Report, prepared by IASP, recommends ways to better assist low and moderate-income families to build and retain assets through multiple strategies and 61 specific recommendations for policy and practice.
The report, released at the Statehouse event with Governor Patrick and legislative leaders, puts forward strategic recommendations for administrative actions, regulatory reforms, and legislative proposals. Highlights include:
The Massachusetts Asset Development Commission was appointed by Governor Patrick and the legislature in early 2008. Its mission is to "ensure Massachusetts residents, especially those who are low and moderate income or asset poor, throughout life have opportunities to develop the assets necessary for sustainable economic security and improved quality of life, and the capacity to end intergenerational cycles of poverty."
To fulfill this mission, the Commission issued its Interim Report, drafted by IASP, with recommendations for immediate action enlisting the following asset building strategies:
The Commission will conclude its work in June 2009 with the issuance of a final report to the Massachusetts legislature with recommendations targeting asset building strategies for low-to-moderate income families over the longer term.
In the Winter 2008 edition of Community Investments, the San Francisco Federal Reserve Board community development magazine, Hannah Thomas and Thomas Shapiro argue that the current economic crisis offers a window to rethink old approaches to ownership. They point to models emerging around the country demonstrating the possibilities of both community and individual ownership, such as Market Creek Plaza in San Diego, the Mission Asset Fund in San Francisco, and Champlain Housing Trust in Vermont.
This document provides a brief analysis of policies that can have a critical role in aiding low-income people and working families build assets. The report presents the current status of numerous policies in Massachusetts; then compares each policy to action taken in other states in New England and across the nation. The inclusion of such an extensive breadth of policies in this report is meant to suggest that progressive policy development in any of these areas can aid low-income individuals and families achieve greater economic security and begin to build wealth.
Many policies have a critical role in creating an asset foundation. This report examines the significance of federal and state minimum wage laws. This is the first of a series that will focus on the building blocks for an integrated asset policy framework emerging through state policies and practices that are advancing asset development at the state level and may drive change in federal policy. The report explores the impact of the minimum wage since its inception and the arguments for and against increases over time. The rationale and strategies behind three recent increases to state minimum wage laws (in Florida, New York, Vermont and Wisconsin) are featured as possible models for replication in other states and for federal policy change.
Across the nation, states with both abundant and lean fiscal resources, with urban and rural populations, and reflecting a variety of ideologies, are increasingly focusing their policies in ways that enable residents to build their asset wealth. This study highlights a cross-section of America where innovative asset-building policies are working in states such as:
In the Winter 2002 issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's
Communities and Banking magazine, Larry W. Beeferman describes the promise and elements of an asset development policy framework. He focuses especially on innovative policies to enable low-income households to build financial assets, detailing encouraging outcomes of Individual Development Account initiatives throughout the country. He concludes with a perspective on ways to move forward on an asset-based policy agenda.
The nation is in need of a new domestic policy framework and many of its building blocks are now being fashioned by state policies. This publication identifies state policies and programs that demonstrate the potential to turn traditional domestic policy on its head, by investing in the capacity of all American households to maximize economic well-being and productivity. Intended to serve as a resource guide for policymakers and the public, this document examines the promise of both new and longstanding, but updated policies and provides detailed descriptions of programs that enable low-income individuals to build income, human capital, and financial assets.
© 2012, Institute on Assets and Social Policy, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University. All rights are reserved.
