UCLA CalKIDS Institute and Asset Building Clinic (ABC) Share Promising Practices for Financially Empowering CA Children

Securing Our Future: Financially Empowering the New Generation event on April 18th, presented by the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies’s CalKIDS Institute and the Asset Building Clinic (ABC), brought together students, educators, and practitioners to provide updates on the CalKIDS Program and share research being done at ABC, while also celebrating ABC’s 9th birthday. Attendees came from all over Los Angeles, including UCLA, Cal State LA, LAUSD, Academic Advancement Program (AAP), Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment, Barrio Action, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, National Association of Social Workers, and Haven Neighborhood Services. Throughout the event, speakers and organizers challenged attendees to take tangible steps toward ensuring a brighter future for children in their communities.

Nayiri Nahabedian, the Executive Director of the UCLA CalKIDS Institute, gave the opening remarks introducing the California Kids Investment & Development Savings Program (CalKIDS) and the UCLA CalKIDS Institute. Through the CalKIDS Program, newborns born after July 1, 2022 and eligible students have access to a child savings account into which the state of California puts a seed deposit. All California newborns receive a CalKIDS account that has already been seeded with an initial deposit of up to $175 that they must then claim by the time they are 26 years old. In addition, eligible students (youth who are low-income, in foster care, or are unhoused) who were enrolled in 1st-12th grade in the 2021-2022 academic year or first graders in subsequent years also receive a Child Savings Account up to $1500. Accounts can be claimed and eligibility can be checked on the CalKIDS website.

Nahabedian stands in front of guests to deliver opening remarks and shares the importance of the CalKIDS Program.

Nahabedian emphasized that while child savings accounts with an initial deposit are now available, it is crucial for all of us to ensure that children and families are aware of the accounts and engage with them. This engagement will not only yield concrete financial benefits, but also social and emotional advantages. She referenced the SEEDS for Oklahoma Kids study, which demonstrated that having Child Savings Accounts contributed to improvements in mothers’ outlooks and improvements in children’s social-emotional development, among other benefits. 

“Poverty is very much a policy choice. Opportunity is very much a policy choice,” Nahabedian stated. She underscored that with CalKIDS, Governor Newsom and California have made a significant commitment toward the well being and success of all California kids. Yet, Nahabedian stressed that a formidable challenge remains. In fact, throughout the event, presenters emphasized that mere knowledge or access is not enough; rather, it is incumbent upon us to support families in claiming these accounts. This is in part a goal of the newly established UCLA CalKIDS Institute, which serves to support, amplify, and evaluate the CalKIDS program.

Guests gather for roundtable discussions with the aim of formulating an actionable implementation strategy for integrating newfound skills.

Dr. Joanna Karczewska, Associate Professor of Social Work in Cal State LA then introduced the Asset Building Clinic (ABC), a new partner of the UCLA CalKIDS Institute. Established by Dr. Karczewska in 2015, ABC aims to empower individuals financially so they can, in turn, financially empower others. ABC’s model, Karczewska explained, was not limited to just sharing financial education or event resources, but creating opportunities for people to take action using the information and resources. Dr. Karczewska encouraged attendees to engage with their local agency partners for ongoing financial programs tailored to underserved communities, citing organizations like Barrio Action, Central City Neighborhood Partners (CCNP), Eastmont Community Center, and LIFT-LA among others. Additionally, ABC supports thesis projects for Cal State LA students pursuing their Masters of Social Work (MSW), provides the Financial First Responder certificate training for social work undergraduates, and offers peer and professional financial coaching.

Following Dr. Karczewska’s remarks, Vanessa Olivares, ABC’s professionally trained Financial Coach, ABC Club Co-President at Cal State LA, provided an update on ABC’s progress since their last Community Event in 2019. She highlighted the growth of the Financial First Responder certificate, which has over 500 people trained to date and the establishment of the ABC Club, a student organization branch of ABC at Cal State LA.

Subsequently, two MSW Candidates from Cal State LA presented the results of their research projects conducted in collaboration with ABC under the supervision of Dr. Karczewska.

Dr. Joanna Karczewska, Associate Professor of Social Work at Cal State LA (left) and Eleanor Bray, MSW Candidate at Cal State LA (right). Dr. Karczewska introduces Bray before presenting her research project titled “He Told Me How to Spend My Money: Healthy Relationships and Financial Capability.”

Eleanor Bray delivered a presentation titled “He Told Me How to Spend My Money: Healthy Relationships and Financial Capability,” focusing on economic abuse in intimate relationships. Bray described various signs of economic abuse and its prevalence among both adult domestic violence survivors and teenagers. Bray stressed the importance of addressing this issue and provided guidance for teens, parents, teachers, and community members on how to identify and combat economic abuse. She suggested:

• “As a teen: Increase your financial empowerment by taking a course on financial capability; learn the red flags of abuse!
• As a parent: Order a credit freeze for your kids to help protect them against identity theft; bolster your own economic knowledge with a financial capability course.
• As a teacher: Include economic abuse in discussions around domestic violence; be a safe place for young people to disclose their experiences.
• As a community member: Take economic abuse seriously!”

More information is available on Bray’s page on ABC’s website.

Following Bray's talk, Nancy Zelaya gave a presentation about outreach efforts for the CalKIDS program, called A Current Snapshot of School Outreach for CalKIDS: Challenges & Opportunities. In her research, Zelaya contacted 49 East LA and Boyle Heights schools in LAUSD to see what their current knowledge was of the CalKIDS Program, Opportunity LA, ScholarShare 529, or any special child accounts for higher education and if any outreach programs were currently underway. Zelaya found that while there is interest in CalKIDS, there is a need to increase outreach. Earlier research with local community providers, funded by the John and Dora Haynes Foundation, demonstrated that underserved community members need opportunities for deeper engagement to transcend barriers of trust and understanding of the financial system. This is not surprising since the intended beneficiaries of CalKIDS and earlier programs like Opportunity LA rarely have access to financial products specifically designed for their families to build assets. CalKIDS can reorient families' understanding of the future they expect for their kids, which is no small task! Community organizations and ordinary members of the public could help and Zeleya encouraged attendees to do so by creating opportunities for people to connect to CalKIDS, such as by sharing the marketing toolkit that can be found on the CalKIDS website, asking schools and other institutions to engage in CalKIDS outreach, and in helping friends and family claim their children’s accounts.

Following the presentations, attendees gathered around a birthday cake celebrating ABC’s 9th birthday before returning to roundtable discussions, during which people engaged in lively discussions on how they would implement the suggestions given during the talks.

Dr. Karczewska, Founding Member of Asset Building Clinic, celebrates its 9th anniversary with cake.