“I filed for disability for my daughter and of course that takes at least four to six months to even go through. So once I do that, then a lot of things will change. They will take my food stamps away so it’s like I can’t win. They give me the help with her, but at the same time they’re taking food out of my house because I have extra income, because they think that I have more because there’s more money coming in that I don’t need—my food stamps, as much as they give me, which is nowhere near true.”
Asset Building
Asset building seeks to empower low-income households to acquire assets, such as a home, a business, an education, and savings for retirement and other life goals. Asset building promotes financial empowerment and the building up of assets through both policy and program initiatives. Research has demonstrated that parental financial assets, such as household savings, are positively associated with the cognitive development of school-aged children.
Current Issue
One promising asset-building strategy offers Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) or Child Development Accounts (CDAs) that provide matching funds to help families save for the future. Philadelphia should follow the lead of San Francisco by offering CDAs to all public school kindergarten students. See here for more information.
Useful Links and Reports
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Drexel University Public School of Health 
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