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Spotlight

Last Thursday, Prosperity Now and over 90 organizations and advocates – including members of the Campaign for Every Kids Future – convened on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for our Day of Action, For Every Kids Future: Investing Today in Baby Bonds. Hosted in partnership with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), original sponsors of the American Opportunity Accounts Act, the event reinforced the need for a national-level program to build on the momentum of local Baby Bonds policy adoption around the country. Additional panel speakers at the Day of Action included lawmakers and community leaders who have successfully legislated or advocated for Baby Bonds policies: Kenyan R. McDuffie, Councilmember At-Large, Council of the District of Columbia, and Emily Byrne, Executive Director, Connecticut Voices for Children and member of the Campaign for Every Kids Future Steering Committee. The panel also featured Naomi Zewdie, Assistant Professor, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Following the event, advocates met with Congressional staff to garner support for the American Opportunity Accounts Act.

In addition to those attending in person, over 900,000 people were reached through our digital Day of Action.

Special thanks to everyone that supported our Day of Action, whether online or in person. While this event has passed, our fight to pass federal Baby Bonds legislation continues. Please take a moment to send our pre-drafted email [[link removed]] and ask your federal legislators to cosponsor the American Opportunity Accounts Act. Together, we can create a future where every child has the resources they need to graduate college without debt, buy a home without worry, and to achieve their full potential without the obstacles of structural racism and wealth inequality.

Policy Updates

Don’t Put Baby (Bonds) in the Corner: Budget Victories in CT & D.C. Show Support Remains Strong

Remember back in 2021 when we celebrated Connecticut and Washington, D.C., becoming the first two locations to pass Baby Bonds legislation? Those were exciting times. But when it came time to fund the programs, the inevitable pushback came. Somehow there’s always money for the policies and tax breaks that benefit big businesses and wealthier taxpayers. But when it comes to policies to benefit children and families, especially in communities of color, we’re told resources are limited and one policy gets pitted against another. This time, however, the policy champions and advocates pushed back against this narrative AND WON! Read more [[link removed]] to find out what happened. (Note that since we published the blog in May, both the D.C. and Connecticut budgets have passed with funding for the Baby Bonds programs in them.)

READ MORE [[link removed]]

Michigan and Minnesota Allocating Funds for Children’s Savings Accounts

Thanks in large part to advocacy efforts of Prosperity Now partner the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan [[link removed]] (CEDAM), the Michigan legislature is expected to appropriate funding for fiscal year 2024 to provide grants for new Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program development and supporting statewide CSA infrastructure. In February, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) recommended appropriating $10 million for CSAs as part of her state budget recommendations. The House and Senate are currently reconciling their versions of the budget and are expected to allocate $5-10 million for CSAs. In Minnesota, inspired by the success of the City of St. Paul’s CollegeBound Saint Paul [[link removed]] CSA program, legislators are expected to appropriate $500,000 for fiscal year 2024 for local community start-up grants for CSA programs. The funding could be for up to four communities serving families in rural, urban, suburban and tribal areas. Originally members of the MinneKIDS Coalition had hoped to create a statewide CSA program, but they plan to continue those efforts next year.

Baby Bonds Legislation Comes Close to Beating the Odds in Nevada

On June 1st, the Nevada Assembly passed Baby Bonds legislation [[link removed]], which had been proposed by State Treasurer Zach Conine (D). While the bill subsequently passed the Senate Finance Committee, the session ended before a full vote could be taken in the Senate [[link removed]]. The original version of the bill would have invested $3,200 for each Nevadan whose birth is covered by Medicaid. However, in order to reduce costs, the version of the bill that passed the Assembly would have instituted a “lottery” system [[link removed]] to select a smaller number of participants among the potentially eligible babies, while not reducing the investment per child.

Baby Bonds Legislation Introduced in New York and North Carolina

New York State Senator Jamaal Bailey (D) and Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz (D) introduced legislation [[link removed]] to create the New York COVID-19 Children’s Fund [[link removed]]—a Baby Bonds-like program for the approximately 16,000 children in the state who lost a parent or primary caregiver to COVID-19. An initial $1,000 investment would be made for children and an additional $1,000 would be invested by the government annually until they reach college age. Meanwhile, North Carolina State Senators Murdock and Salvador introduced a bill [[link removed]] that would create the North Carolina Baby Bond Trust Fund program. Children born after 1/1/24 to state resident parents with household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level would be automatically enrolled and $2,000 would be invested for them for later use for postsecondary education, purchasing a primary residence or starting a business.

In the News

San Francisco Celebrates the First Kindergarten to College Graduates

In a milestone for the Children’s Savings Account (CSA) field, the first cohort of San Francisco Kindergarten to College (K2C) participants [[link removed]] graduated high school this May. Started in 2011 by Treasurer Jose Cisneros and then mayor (now governor), Gavin Newsom, K2C [[link removed]] was the first citywide, universal CSA program in the country. The program automatically opens a savings account with a $50 initial deposit for all incoming kindergartners in San Francisco Unified School District, along with providing other program contributions and encouraging parental savings to build account balances. About 600 of this year’s graduates were in the first pilot cohort of the program. In total, K2C has over 52,000 participating students with more than $15 million in savings [[link removed]].

Wall Street Journal Asks: Could $3,200 ‘Baby Bonds’ Help End Poverty in America?

A recent Wall Street Journal article [[link removed]] and accompanying podcast [[link removed]] looked into the concept and potential impact of “the poorest children start[ing] life with some money in the bank” through Baby Bonds. Covering the new programs in Connecticut, DC and California, the article includes the perspective of new and expectant mothers, like Luz Holmes, who told the reporter, “An initiative like baby bonds is showing every child that you believe in their future success, and we want that opportunity.”

Editorial Urges Another Shot for Washington Future Fund Next Year

An editorial in the Everett Herald [[link removed]] named the Washington Future Fund [[link removed]]—a Baby Bonds bill proposed by Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti (D)—as one of four legislative proposals that did not pass in 2023 but deserve consideration in the next session. The Washington Future Fund bill passed through the House Committee on Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning but did not get passed by the full House—despite widespread support—because of concerns about the state’s overall budget. According to the editorial, the Washington Future Fund is “an investment with substantial dividends for the decades ahead [that] merits greater consideration next session.”

St. Louis Public Radio Profiles Child Development Accounts

A recent story [[link removed]] on St. Louis Public Radio highlighted research and programmatic developments on Child Development Accounts or CDAs (another term for CSAs), including the SEED for Oklahoma Kids randomized control trial and St. Louis College Kids program serving children in St. Louis public schools. The article spotlighted Dr. William “Willie” Elliott [[link removed]] of the University of Michigan, one of the leading researchers on CSAs, who talked about the need to focus on asset accumulation to address poverty.

Resources and Publications

How To Lead With Your Values When Talking About Financial Well-Being [[link removed]] | Prosperity Now

Prosperity Now's resource guides advocates in the economic justice movement to effectively engage decision-makers and stakeholders by identifying the underlying "why" and leading with core values.

Funding New Jersey’s Future with Baby Bonds [[link removed]] | NJ Institute for Social Justice

This report makes the case for a state Baby Bonds program in New Jersey and makes recommendations for elements to include for a strong policy.

The Case for Early Wealth Building Accounts [[link removed]] | Aspen Institute – Financial Security Program

This report talks about why young adults need “investable sums” to invest in their future, how Early Wealth Building Accounts could provide those investable sums, and gives policy design principles for creating these accounts.

Resources for Better FAFSA [[link removed]] | National College Attainment Network (NCAN)

NCAN offers a range of training opportunities and resources for organizations serving college applicants to learn about the revised FAFSA form, known as Better FAFSA.

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