The Assets and Opportunities Scorecard: Towards Asset Policies and Asset Building Budgets in Connecticut

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The Assets and Opportunities Scorecard Towards
Asset Policies and Asset Building Budgets in
Connecticut

• September 20, 2006

Douglas Hall, Ph.D. Associate Research
Director Connecticut Voices for Children
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Part II Family Asset Scorecard and State Level
Research

• CFEDs State Asset Development Scorecard (SADRC,
  2002) and Family Asset Scorecard (2005) gives
  existing family asset research a coherent
  framework
• CFED reports expose areas of research need
• Family asset research provides unifying theme for
  coalition work
• Relationship with CFED opens door to new agendas
• broader national research agenda around asset
  building
• State groups, Federal Reserve Bank system, etc.,
  discuss research, implementation of asset
  building agenda

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Working with CFED and Broadening Our Policy Focus

• Connecticut specific report builds on Scorecard
  work, looking deeper and smaller
• Connecticut report highlights glaring disparities

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Asset Building Connecticut Housing Prohibitively
Expensive
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CT Asset Forum Broadening the Discussion

• Keynote speaker CFEDs Robert Friedman
• Experts in housing and education look at their
  policy worlds through asset lens
• Attended by 100 people, the usual suspects,
  but also new faces
• Brainstorming/Dreaming dream bigStatewide
  Child IDA program?

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Lessons of Connecticuts involvement with CFEDs
Asset Reports

• Focusing on family assets does several things
• It considerably broadens the policy agenda
• It provides broad-based coalition work with a
  solid foundation and a shared common purpose
• It introduces an explicit intergenerational
  dimension
• Putting yourself on the asset learning curve(s)
  leads you to new places, new allies

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Broadening the Agenda
Asset Self-Sufficient Families
Housing
Education
Income
Homeownership
IDAs
etc.
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Organizationally, this presents a huge challenge
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Solution? Coalition Work 2002-2006 One
Connecticut the campaign to fight poverty and
build economic security
100 others
Connecticut Voices for Children
Connecticut Association for Human Services
United Way of Connecticut
Connecticut Housing Coalition
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Moving Forward in Renewed Coalition 2006 and
Beyond
100 others
??
Connecticut Voices for Children
Connecticut Association for Human Services
United Way of Connecticut
Connecticut Housing Coalition
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Lessons Learned

• Think hard about what you hope to accomplish with
  your work media attention? Public policy
  influence? Internal journey up the learning
  curve?
• Use Assets to broaden your foundation, not
  water down your focus
• Every win moves us closer to overall objective
  families that are self-sufficient

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Part IV Towards an Asset Building Budget

• Some big questions
• What expenditures to include
• How are expenditures divided amongst residents by
  income (i.e. who benefits from expenditure? The
  very wealthy? Low income families?)
• What policy options does this research invite?

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Budgeting for Asset Building

• Toensure thatasset-building polices are
  effective and the sizable investments are well
  used, there should be vigorous public debate
  about what ourpriorities should be.If the
  current volume and distribution of programs
  continues as is, it should be the result of
  measured deliberation rather than benign neglect
  and lack of information.
• CFED, Hidden in Plain Sight, 2004.

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State Asset Budget what to include?

• Expenditures in support of
• Homeownership
• Business development
• Retirement
• Savings and investment
• Education

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Connecticuts Asset Budget, FY 2005 Draft
Findings
Asset Area (M) of Total
Education and Training 2,979.2 79
Housing 316.6 8
Business Development 0.2 0
Retirement 403.2 11
Investment 53.0 1
TOTAL 3,752.1
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Connecticuts Asset Budget, FY 2005 Draft
Findings
FY 07 Bond Allocations FY 07 Bond Allocations FY 07 Bond Allocations
Elementary Education 694 79
Housing 320 8
Business Development 35 0
TOTAL Bond Allocation 403.2
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A Closer Look at Social Security Benefits
Adjustments
35 million
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A Closer Look at Property Tax Credits
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A Closer Look at Interest on US Government
Obligations
50 million
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A Closer Look at Exempt Dividends on US
Government Obligations
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A Closer Look at Education and Training
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Next Steps/Wish List

• Determine income breakdown of students attending
  CT institutions of higher education
• What to do with debt service?? (1.3B in 05)
• Research, Advocacy, around policies that address
  Part II concerns

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• Contact Information
• Douglas Hall, Ph.D.
• Connecticut Voices for Children
• 33 Whitney Avenue,
• New Haven, CT 06510
• 203-498-4240
• doug_at_ctkidslink.org
• www.ctkidslink.org