☃️Baby Bonds (Toolkit), Children's Savings Accounts, these are a few of our favorite things!❄️
No images? Click here
Spotlight
New Legislative Toolkit Released as Baby Bonds Champions Triumph in the Election
Baby Bonds 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, was elected governor.
Massachusetts: Deborah Goldberg, who formed a Baby Bonds task force in the spring and plans to introduce legislation soon, was reelected treasurer.
Nevada: Zach Conine, who has proposed a state Baby Bonds program, was reelected treasurer.
Connecticut: Erick Russell, who was elected treasurer, has committed to implementing the delayed Baby Bonds program.
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.
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.
Bringing Baby Bonds to Massachusetts: An Interview with Samantha Perry
Over the last several months, the Massachusetts Baby Bonds Task Force, which includes Prosperity Now Policy Fellow, Shira Markoff, has met to develop recommendations for a state Baby Bonds program. The Treasurer’s Office recently published the Task Force’s recommendations, 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.
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 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 (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 (CTC) removed financial stressors from vulnerable American families, lessened hunger among children, and cut child poverty in half, Congress failed 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 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 (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. 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” 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, 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 (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 | 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 | 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.
Job postings
Children’s Savings Manager – Catalyst Miami
Sr. Policy Associate — GRACE/End Child Poverty CA
