Policy & Practice April 2015

MEETING PEOPLE

WHERE

THEY

ARE

Increasing Financial Well-Being Through Integrating Financial Capability Services

A shlee Reed is a Massachusetts resident, Head Start teacher, college graduate, and a mom struggling every month to stretch a dollar. She lives in Section 8 housing with her three children and their father, who was recently laid-off from being a cook in a college cafeteria. She brings home $357 per week in take-home pay during the 44-week school year. Because she is a Head Start teacher, Ashlee does not earn an income when school is closed during the summer. She does her best to prepare for this gap in income over the year by saving as much as she can. Ashlee owes $25,000 in educational debt and $4,000 to five different credit card companies. Every month she pays $360 toward her student loans to avoid default and can often only manage paying the minimum payment on her credit cards. She has little to no savings and often relies on credit cards during times of finan- cial emergency, such as when she does not have income in the summer months. Ashlee Reed is one of the families featured in the book, It’s Not Like I’m Poor, by Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Kathryn Edin, Laura Tach, and Jennifer Sykes. Millions of American households, like Ashlee’s, are strug- gling. Public social service agencies are poised to address in real, meaningful ways the financial challenges Ashlee and other households face. By integrating financial skills, knowledge, and resources into various social service delivery platforms, agencies can create long-term solutions for house- holds and decrease reliance on government income supports. By Kate Griffin, Jeremie Greer, and Alicia Atkinson

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April 2015   Policy&Practice