A Cross-Sectional Examination of Educational Expectation Among Welfare Users in an Asset Building Program

The Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) program, an asset-building intervention, has gained increasing attention for its potential to elevate low-in families’ education expectations, college enrollment, and completion. Variations in program enrollment policy can lead to different levels of program participation among vulnerable populations. This paper examines the enrollment policy of one of the oldest CSA programs and explores program participation among a financially vulnerable group—welfare users. While welfare users were 43% less likely to expect their children to attend college, those who enrolled in the CSA program were about two times more likely to expect their children to go to college than welfare users who did not participate in the program. Findings shed light on research and policies that facilitate asset-building efforts among vulnerable populations and encourage visioning CSAs a potential drive for better financial inclusion.