The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is continuing its Youth Employment Success (YES) initiative with a new 2019 cohort. This program aims to improve financial literacy for youth in job readiness programs and is looking for five new programs across the country that are interested in creating and testing tools to help youth better understand their finances. Ultimately, the program goal is to improve socioeconomic self-sufficiency and employment outcomes in youth job programs, as well as develop sustainable tools to serve youth across the country. If selected, the programs will receive access to new tools developed by the Bureau and will also be able to evaluate and make suggestions on the tools. Selection criteria include mission alignment, organizational capacity, target population, willingness to share feedback, and relationships with similar programs. If you think your program and participants would benefit from a tool and training to improve young adult finances, email empowerment@cfpb.gov with a Letter of Interest by November 26, 2018. Other resources for Youth Employment Programs can be found at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/practitioner-resources/resources-youth-employment-programs/.

This blog from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, authored by OFA Director Clarence H. Carter, is part of the Self-Sufficiency Series: Solutions from the Field, which profiles local programs from across the country finding solutions to accomplish the goals of encouraging self-sufficiency and personal responsibility, eliminating barriers to economic opportunity, and supporting strong families and healthy marriage. In particular, Circles USA and Open Table are highlighted for their efforts to boost the social capital individuals need to help them work towards self-sufficiency.

This blog post from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights recent research regarding teens in the U.S. and their level of financial literacy. The research results did show room to improve financial literacy among teens, but it also showed that many teens do discuss financial issues with their parents regularly, and that those holding a bank account have higher levels of literacy. The article concludes with links to other pertinent resources.

This worksheet helps practitioners understand how to use the behavioral economics concept of “anchoring” in a goal setting conversation with clients. Anchoring means sharing information that may influence an individual’s behavior in one direction, without explicitly telling them what to do. (For example, posting a suggested donation of $10 for museum entry is an anchor – you do not have to donate $10, but many people likely will.) The worksheet addresses setting a savings goal, but the concept can be applied to any type of goal.

This factsheet from the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides an overview of the new provisions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was passed in late 2017 and how they will affect low-income families. It covers important tax provisions such as the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit and offers suggestions for future research on the effects of the new tax code.

This blog post from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights a new resource that the Bureau has released called "Focus on People with Disabilities" which is a companion piece to a financial empowerment toolkit previously released. The guide covers information such as how Supplemental Security Income works, identifying financial abuse and exploitation, and ways to pay for assistive technology. Additionally, the Bureau has 11 new tools to help organizations and their staff implement this toolkit.

This working paper from the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research examines the effects of receipt of the federal Pell Grant on future earnings of low-income students and a cost-benefit analysis for the program. Researchers found that Pell Grant receipt greatly increases the chance of graduation and that within 10 years, the taxes from earnings of former Pell Grant recipients will fully recoup the total federal expenditures on the original grants. In addition, the social welfare implications of grant aid are discussed.

This study from the Fatherhood Research and Practice Network provides the final evaluation results of a randomized controlled trial of a culturally tailored fatherhood curriculum for low-income fathers residing in Baltimore, Maryland. The program is called “Developing all Dads for Manhood and Parenting” (DAD MAP); study results showed some gains in desired outcomes in the short term, but the gains waned as time passed after program completion.

This report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shares the proceedings from the "Youth Employment Success Roundtable: Setting Up America’s Young Workers For Success" which took place in February 2017. The roundtable convened federal agencies, municipal workforce leaders, and other stakeholders to discuss best practices and next steps for integrating financial literacy initiatives into youth employment programs.