☃️Baby Bonds (Toolkit), Children's Savings Accounts, these are a few of our favorite things!❄️

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Spotlight

New Legislative Toolkit Released [[link removed]] as Baby Bonds Champions Triumph in the Election

Baby Bonds [[link removed]] have gained momentum at the state level over the past few years, and the recent election bodes well for continued activity. Voters elected or reelected several Baby Bonds champions across the country, including:

Maryland: Wes Moore, who championed Baby Bonds during his campaign [[link removed]], was elected governor.

Massachusetts: Deborah Goldberg, who formed a Baby Bonds task force [[link removed]] in the spring and plans to introduce legislation soon, was reelected treasurer.

Nevada: Zach Conine, who has proposed a state Baby Bonds program [[link removed]], was reelected treasurer.

Connecticut: Erick Russell, who was elected treasurer, has committed to implementing [[link removed]] the delayed Baby Bonds program [[link removed]].

As Baby Bonds champions (re)take office, Prosperity Now is supporting their efforts with Baby Bonds: A Legislative Toolkit for Building a Brighter Future in Your State [[link removed]].

Get First Access to the Baby Bonds Legislative Toolkit [[link removed]]

This new toolkit provides state and local policymakers and advocates with a legislative template with all the key elements needed for an effective Baby Bonds policy and advice on customizing the elements to align with the needs of each state or locality. We look forward to sharing the toolkit and working with Baby Bonds champions across the country in the new year to move legislation forward. Read the full blog here [[link removed]].

Bringing Baby Bonds to Massachusetts: An Interview with Samantha Perry

Over the last several months, the Massachusetts Baby Bonds Task Force [[link removed]], which includes Prosperity Now Policy Fellow, Shira Markoff [[link removed]], has met to develop recommendations for a state Baby Bonds program. The Treasurer’s Office recently published the Task Force’s recommendations [[link removed]], which the state Treasurer, Deborah Goldberg, plans to put forth into policy. Prosperity Now interviewed Samantha Perry, a Deputy Director at the Massachusetts Office of the Treasurer and Receiver General, to learn more about the Task Force and its recommendations.

Read the Full Interview Here [[link removed]] Policy Updates

Washington Future Fund Committee Releases Recommendations for Baby Bonds Legislation

The Washington Future Fund (WFF) committee released a report outlining the committee’s findings and recommendations [[link removed]] for creating a state Baby Bonds program, as required by a state budget provision earlier this year. Prosperity Now and Camber Collective led a quantitative and qualitative research project on wealth inequities in the state, which informed the committee’s report. The committee recommended that the WFF program invest $4,000 for every child who receives Apple Health [[link removed]] (Medicaid) before their first birthday, which could be used for future homeownership, business start-up or postsecondary education. The legislature is expected to take up the WFF legislation during the 2023 session.

Congress Has Failed to Continue the Expanded Child Tax Credit, But We Will Keep Demanding #BuildBackforJustice

Even though data reveals that the expanded Child Tax Credit [[link removed]] (CTC) removed financial stressors from vulnerable American families, lessened hunger among children [[link removed]], and cut child poverty in half, Congress failed [[link removed]] to continue the expanded CTC after it expired in January 2022. The long-term goal of a permanently expanded CTC has become tougher to achieve with Republicans winning control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections. However, Prosperity Now—along with many advocates, experts, and policymakers— continues to push for this important policy [[link removed]] during the lame duck session.

In the News

State Children’s Savings Accounts Programs Spotlighted

A recent article discussed how five states have started automatic, universal Children’s Savings Accounts [[link removed]] (CSAs) in recent years and momentum continues to grow in others. Meanwhile, news coverage continues for the launch of the largest-in-the-nation Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program, CalKIDS [[link removed]]. CalKIDS invests $500 into a 529 college savings accounts for California students from low-income households, with additional investments for children who are homeless or in foster care. It also automatically invests $25 for all newborns in the state.

Editorials Support Baby Bonds in Connecticut and Washington

Two recent editorials expressed support for wealth building for children from low-wealth households through Baby Bonds. A Washington State editorial calls the proposed Washington Future Fund “ an investment to exit [the] poverty cycle [[link removed]]” and support children’s futures. The other editorial describes how Connecticut is “showing the way to the rest of our nation” through it’s first-in-the-country Baby Bonds policy, [[link removed]] which will give $3,200 to babies whose births are covered by the state Medicaid program.

The Potential Connection Between Baby Bonds and Heart Health

Recent findings from the American Heart Association [[link removed]] (AHA) show that the racial wealth gap drives racial differences in cardiovascular health. AHA President Dr. Michelle Albert suggests deploying Baby Bonds as one of several policies to level the racial wealth divide and therefore hopefully end the cardiovascular health gap.

Resources and Publications

Children’s Savings Accounts and Baby Bonds Have a Similar Origin Story [[link removed]] | Center on Assets, Education, & Inclusion at University of Michigan

In this paper, Dr. William Elliott argues that the CSA and Baby Bonds fields should unite behind shared principles, take control over the wealth inequality public narrative and pass meaningful asset building legislation for people with low incomes.

What the 90s Can Teach Us About Strengthening the Child Tax Credit [[link removed]] | Prosperity Now

In this blog, Prosperity Now highlights lessons learned from the 1996 introduction of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to consider during current debates around the CTC.

Events

Funding and Growth in the Children’s Savings Account Field: Findings from the 2021 CSA Funding Survey | Asset Funder’s Network

If you missed this webinar on December 7, the webinar recording and report will be shared here [[link removed]].

Job postings

Children’s Savings Manager [[link removed]] – Catalyst Miami

Sr. Policy Associate [[link removed]] — GRACE/End Child Poverty CA

1200 G Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC xxxxxx

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