ASSET Initiative

The ASSET Initiative is a collaborative effort across the Federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to bring the benefits of asset building to more low-income individuals and families. Through the ASSET Initiative, ACF is stressing the importance of a variety of asset building tools that program staff, grantees, and other partners can share with the individuals and families they serve:

• Financial education
• Savings and individual development accounts (IDAs)
• Access to mainstream banking services
• Debt and credit counseling
• Tax benefits and access to refundable tax credits
• Access to Federal and State benefits

Through the ASSET Initiative, AFI and its partner agencies can focus on providing asset building services to six populations that face particular challenges:

• People with disabilities,
• Native Americans,
• Survivors of domestic violence,
• Refugees, fathers and families, and
• Families with young children.

By targeting these special populations, the initiative will bolster the ACF agencies’ common mission: aiding low-income families.

Visit the IDAresources page to find more information on special populations.

This article originally ran in the IDAresources.org Update Newsletter on 01/28/10 and is available for archival purposes.
For updated information on asset building and the AFI program, please see www.IDAresources.org.