Campaign for Every Kid's Future Newsletter August 2023
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From Kindergarten to College: The First K2C Participants are Off to College and Career
It often feels like kids grow up so quickly—from kindergarten one day to college the next! But for those working on Children’s Savings Account (CSA) programs, the wait for participants to reach college age has felt long. But now the wait is over, at least in San Francisco. The first cohort of Kindergarten to College (K2C) participants has graduated high school! When Treasurer José Cisneros and then-Mayor (now Governor) Gavin Newsom kicked off the program in 2011, it was the first municipal, universal CSA program. Now K2C is leading the way as the first large program to have a graduating cohort.
We talked with K2C program manager, Mohan Kanungo, about this exciting time for the program and the CSA field.
Policy Updates
Summer Brings the Arrival of the First Baby Bonds Participants
After a deal securing funding for the Baby Bonds program passed as part of Connecticut’s FY23-24 budget, eligibility for the program began with babies born starting on July 1st, whose births were covered by the state’s Medicaid program. Several news outlets covered the first eligible baby to be born on July 1. Treasurer Erick Russell (D) has been touting the program across the state, including making an appearance at a New Haven hospital along with a newborn and her mom, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker (D).
Michigan’s Legislature Approves $2.5 Million in CSA Funds
Thanks in large part to advocacy efforts of Prosperity Now partner the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM), the Michigan legislature appropriated $2.5 million in CSA funding for fiscal year 2023-24. The funds will be used to provide grants for new CSA program development and to support statewide CSA infrastructure.
City of Rochester Announces New CSA Initiative
The City of Rochester, New York announced that its Office of Financial Empowerment received a $244,000 grant from ESL for the design and implementation of a CSA program. The City is planning to contract with Prosperity Now to work with a local, cross-sector task force to design the program. The initial phase of the program is expected to launch in about 12 months and the full program will launch within two years.
In the News
Letters to the Editor Criticize Editorial on BabySteps | Boston Globe
A Boston Globe editorial published August 11th, “Baby Bonds Don’t Help Enough Lower-Income Families Save for College,” wrongly characterizes Massachusetts’ BabySteps program as a Baby Bonds program and criticizes it on a number of fronts. In a letter to the editor, “Baby Bonds,” BabySteps – Two Different Programs with Distinct Aims, Prosperity Now Senior Fellow, Shira Markoff, explains what a Baby Bonds program is, how it is different from BabySteps, and how the Baby Bonds program proposed by Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg would address the equity challenges raised by the editorial. Treasurer Goldberg’s subsequent letter to the editor, State’s BabySteps Savings Plan is Set for Long-Term Success, focuses on how Massachusetts Treasury has been addressing the challenges discussed in the editorial, such as through the Community Ambassadors program to help families with low incomes enroll and plans to provide additional seed deposits to children receiving SNAP.
Why this Economist Wants to Give Every Poor Child $50,000 | The Ezra Klein Show (New York Times)
Dr. Darrick Hamilton spoke with Ezra Klein about the racial wealth divide, policy decisions that have led to the inequitable distribution of wealth and policies that could address it, including Baby Bonds.
The Boldest Step to Close the Racial Wealth Divide in Generations | Inequality.org
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s Dedrick Asante-Muhammad writes that the Connecticut Baby Bonds program is a significant step forward for public policy on addressing the racial wealth divide and should serve as a model for other states.
She's Going Into 6th Grade and Already Saving for College | New York Times
Caileigh Boyce, a middle school student in New York City, and her mother discuss saving through the NYC Kids RISE Save for College program.
To Fix Retirement Crisis, Give Every Baby $10,000 | Washington Post
Bloomberg opinion columnist, Nir Kaissar, proposes that the government invest $10,000 in the stock market for babies to fund their retirement.
Resources & Publications
Building Assets & Aspirations: A Playbook for Integrating Statewide College Promise Programs & Children’s Savings Accounts | College Promise | July 2023
Making the Two New Jerseys One: Closing the $300,000 Racial Wealth Gap in the Garden State | New Jersey Institute for Social Justice | August 2023
Did you miss this year’s advocacy training series, Camp Prosperity? Find the recordings and materials here.
