August 2014 

Building financial 

capability in youth 

employment programs 

Insights from a roundtable with practitioners 
2 

About this report 

This report is based on information from a roundtable convened by the Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau. It was prepared by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) 

under the Assets for Independence Program’s ASSET Initiative Partnership for the 

Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services. 

GSA Schedule Contract GS-10-F-0177L 

Order No HHSP233201200674G

 
3 

Table of contents 

Table of contents ....................................................................................................... 3

1. Executive summary ........................................................................................... 5

2. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 8

2.1 The importance of building youth financial capability .................................... 9

2.2 Financial capability in youth employment programs .................................... 10

2.3 Implementation in communities large and small .......................................... 11

3. A selection of community efforts .................................................................. 13

3.1 Chicago, IL ...................................................................................................... 14

3.2 Philadelphia, PA ............................................................................................. 15

3.3 Washington, D.C. ............................................................................................ 16

3.4 San Francisco, CA ........................................................................................... 17

4. Lessons shared by roundtable participants ............................................... 19

4.1 Partnerships .................................................................................................... 19

4.2 Financial education ........................................................................................ 22

4.3 Financial products .......................................................................................... 24

4.4 Participant communication and engagement ................................................ 26
4 

5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 28

5.1 Further research and evaluation .....................................................................29

Appendix A: Federal interest in financial capability for young 

Americans .......................................................................................................... 30

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 33
5 

1. Executive summary 

Financial capability is “the capacity, based on knowledge, skills, and access, to manage financial 

resources effectively.”1 Many Americans, including a large number of young people, currently 

experience low levels of financial capability, high levels of economic vulnerability, and barriers 

to building economic stability. Developing strong financial skills is important to young people, 

especially to disadvantaged youth who may have limited resources and access to financial 

education and services. 

One promising opportunity for teaching young people about financial capability occurs when 

they are participating in programs that provide youth training and employment. Nearly 20 

million youth were employed in July 2013 alone, 2 so youth employment programs offered in 

local communities represent a potentially powerful delivery mechanism for financial capability 

services. In recognition of this, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with its federal 

agency partners on the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, convened a roundtable of 

national and local leaders on November 6, 2013 to discuss current efforts to help youth build 

financial capability through employment programs. This document provides an overview of 

lessons drawn from that meeting for increasing the financial capability of young people through 

youth employment programs. 

The meeting brought together leaders from promising programs that included three important 

components: integrating financial education into youth employment programs, establishing 

partnerships with employers, and identifying effective strategies to collaborate with financial 

institutions. The key takeaways from the roundtable are: 

 

1 Department of the Treasury, Amended Charter: President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financialeducation/Documents/PACFC%202010%20Amended%20Charter.pdf. 

2 The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Unemployment Among Youth – Summer 2013, August 2013, 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm. 
6 

 Lesson 1: Partnerships with the private sector, nonprofit organizations, 

government agencies, financial institutions, and youth are necessary for 

successful program implementation. The key to creating successful partnerships is 

to identify overlapping priorities or goals of each participating organization, and to align 

the role of each partner with the resources (time, money, etc.) that they can dedicate to 

the effort. The extent to which partners directly provide financial capability services in a 

youth employment program will vary depending on how they are participating and their 

motivation for doing so. 

 Lesson 2: Financial education should be tailored to the needs of youth, 

employers, and financial education providers. Financial education is more 

efficient when seamlessly integrated into a program’s structure to account for the time 

and resource constraints of youth, employers, and financial education providers. In 

addition to structure and delivery, financial information should be tailored to address a 

young person’s specific needs and priorities. Youth are a diverse population, and 

financial information delivered in a youth employment program should be “just in time,” 

or relevant at the time someone is facing a particular life choice or for a decision they will 

face in the near future. Financial education should also be actionable and provide 

opportunities to apply knowledge in real time so that it is appropriate to a young 

person’s current life priorities. 

 Lesson 3: Financial products offered to youth should be carefully selected by 

weighing the costs and risks of various options. All of the communities 

highlighted here seek to capitalize on the “teachable moment” of employment to provide 

safe and affordable financial products for youth to use, with the goals of helping youth 

avoid high fees, encouraging savings, and connecting young people to mainstream 

financial services. However, financial institutions’ understanding of, and compliance 

with, identification, residency and “know your customer” regulatory requirements may 

pose barriers to entry into the financial system for youth. Ongoing dialogue with the 

financial services industry and regulators will help determine what risk and cost factors 

are most important in creating and offering products for young consumers. 

 Lesson 4: Organizations should develop explicit strategies for engaging 

youth in the short and long term. Efforts to engage youth are important both 

during and after the employment program. During employment programs, 

organizations have used social media, peer training facilitators, and incentives to 

encourage more youth to adopt positive financial habits. Organizations have a captive 
7 

audience while the young people are employed. However, organizations struggle to make 

the financial components persistent, or “sticky,” after youth exit the program. Long-term 

engagement strategies include involving family members and friends, and providing 

access to financial education and products outside the employment program. 

While this was not an exhaustive review of current efforts to build financial capability through 

youth employment programs, conversations with roundtable participants revealed valuable 

lessons and resources that leaders in communities of all sizes can learn from and replicate. 

Stakeholders such as federal program managers, municipal leaders, financial institutions, 

national intermediaries, philanthropic partners, private sector employers, and communitybased organizations will be key to building upon the work already done and moving it forward. 
8 

2. Introduction 

Financial capability is “the capacity, based on knowledge, skills, and access, to manage financial 

resources effectively.”3 Many Americans, including a large number of young people, currently 

experience low levels of financial capability, suffer from high levels of economic vulnerability, 

and encounter barriers to building economic stability. Developing financial skills is important 

for all young people, especially for disadvantaged youth who may have limited resources and 

access to financial education and services. 

One promising opportunity to provide information about financial capability arises when young 

people are participating in youth employment programs. Nearly 20 million youth were 

employed in July 2013 alone. 4 Youth employment programs offered in local communities 

represent a potentially powerful delivery system for financial capability services. In recognition 

of this, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with its federal agency partners on 

the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), as part of its “Starting Early for 

Financial Success” initiative, convened a roundtable of national and local leaders on November 

6, 2013. This document provides an overview of lessons drawn from that meeting for increasing 

the financial capability of young people through youth employment programs. 

The purpose of the roundtable was to bring together examples of promising programs that were 

integrating financial capability services, such as access to bank or credit union accounts and 

financial education, as part of their existing youth employment efforts. FLEC and the CFPB 

wanted to gather information from the field to determine what was working, identify barriers to 

expanding existing efforts to other programs, and develop new ideas that may be used to 

 

3 Department of the Treasury, “Amended Charter: President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.” 

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financialeducation/Documents/PACFC%202010%20Amended%20Charter.pdf 

4 The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment and Unemployment Among Youth – Summer 2013,” August 2013, 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm.
9 

enhance existing programs. Emphasis was placed on programs that enroll large numbers of lowincome youth and those programs with several years of experience. It was also deemed 

important to identify programs that included three key components: integration of financial 

education into youth employment programming; programs with promising partnerships with 

employers; and strategies to collaborate with financial institutions. The goal of the roundtable 

was to identify specific strategies and innovative programs that other communities could learn 

from and emulate, regardless of size. 

The purpose of this report is to share the discussion from that roundtable and subsequent 

follow-up conversations, including lessons learned and several considerations for 

implementation. It offers direction for future work and investment in this arena. 

2.1 The importance of building youth 

financial capability 

Developing financial skills is important to all young people. It is especially important to 

disadvantaged youth who may have limited resources and access to financial education and 

services. High school students are not very literate when it comes to financial matters. In a 2008 

financial literacy survey, the average score among high school students was just 48.3 percent, 

the lowest level ever.5 Approximately 17.4 percent of households with members under age 24 do 

not have a bank account, which is an important tool for managing income and building assets.6

And in 2013, 17 percent of American youth – some 6.7 million young people ages 16 to 24 – were 

out of school, out of work, or otherwise disconnected from the systems and opportunities that 

lead to a financially secure adulthood.7

 

5 Lewis Mandell, The Financial Literacy of Young American Adults: Results of the 2008 National Jump$tart Coalition 

Survey of High School Seniors and College Students, Jump$tart, 

http://www.jumpstart.org/assets/files/2008SurveyBook.pdf. 

6 FDIC, 2011 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, December 2012, 

http://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/. 

7 John Bridgeland and Tess Mason-Elder, National Roadmap for Opportunity Youth, Civic Enterprises, September 

2012, 

http://www.civicenterprises.net/MediaLibrary/Docs/Opportunity%20Youth%20National%20Roadmap%20Final%

202012.pdf. 
10 

Momentum has grown in recent years to improve youth financial literacy. Research has shown 

that in states where financial education is a high school graduation requirement, youth are more 

likely to create and adhere to a budget and less likely to engage in risky credit behaviors.8 Yet 

while financial literacy is important, financial literacy initiatives should also include 

opportunities for youth to build the skills they need to manage their finances; programs should 

provide a stronger focus on expanding access to financial services that youth can use to 

successfully apply their financial knowledge. Financial capability initiatives take financial 

education to the next level, and encourage young people to transform knowledge into behavior 

by coupling learning with access to financial products and services.9 

2.2 Financial capability in youth 

employment programs 

While youth employment has declined overall in recent years due to the economic recession and 

its aftermath, nearly 20 million youth (ages 16 to 24) were employed in July 2013.10 In addition, 

the number of young workers increases dramatically each summer, when school is out. Between 

April and July 2013, the number of employed youth increased by 2 million.11 

This relatively large cohort of working youth presents an opportunity to deliver financial 

capability services. Research suggests that financial education is most effective when provided at 

a point in time when people feel that the information is relevant to their lives and can apply their 

new knowledge promptly.12 These findings suggest that targeting young workers to receive 

financial education and services when receiving their first paychecks is a logical way to boost 

financial capability. These young workers may be especially receptive to information about 

 

8 Michael Gutter, Financial Capability of College Students from States with Varying Financial Education Policies, 

(Denver, CO: National Endowment for Financial Education, 2009). 

9 Elizabeth Johnson and Margaret S. Sherraden, From Financial Literacy to Financial Capability Among Youth, 

Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare XXXIV, no. 3 (2007). 

10 The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Unemployment Among Youth – Summer 2013, August 2013, 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm. 

11 Ibid. 

12 Daniel Fernandes and John G.Lynch and Richard G. Netemeyer, Financial Literacy, Financial Education and 

Downstream Financial Behaviors, Forthcoming in Management Science, January 6, 2014, 

http://ssrn.com/abstract=2333898.
11 

financial management and more likely to take up opportunities to apply this knowledge – and 

build behaviors that may last a lifetime. 

Below are some examples of ways youth employment programs can help their participants build 

financial capability: 

 Young workers can identify savings goals and work with mentors or coaches to employ 

budgeting skills to work toward these goals. Savings goals can include emergency funds 

to weather a crisis; funds to invest in job tools, training, or higher education; or funds to 

use for more immediate things like the latest video game or mobile phone. Programs can 

also provide incentives to develop these savings habits. 

 Young workers can learn about building or repairing credit and work with mentors or 

coaches to take actions that create a credit history (or repair it). Teaching young people 

how to manage credit and debt effectively can also prevent them from incurring large 

amounts of bad debt or misusing credit. 

 Programs can provide youth with information about and access to a range of financial 

products and services available to them so that they can make informed decisions about 

which best meet their needs. This can range from directing them to free or low-cost 

direct deposit accounts to providing connections to free tax preparation assistance so 

they can avoid high-cost tax preparers. 

In Section 3, we outline the main characteristics of the youth employment programs that 

participants presented at the roundtable. The appendix provides further information on federal 

interest in building financial capability for youth. 

2.3 Implementation in communities large 

and small 

2.3.1 Lessons from Bank On 

The framework for the roundtable and the ongoing work to increase youth financial capability 

through employment programs is drawing important lessons from the Bank On movement. 

Bank On programs work with banks and credit unions in local communities to reduce barriers to 

banking and increase access to the financial mainstream. Bank On programs are typically led by 
12 

local government or state public officials and are voluntary, public-private partnerships between 

local or state government, financial institutions, and community-based organizations that 

provide low-income, unbanked, and underbanked people with free or low-cost starter or 

“second chance” bank accounts and access to financial education. 

Bank On provides a unique example of how innovative strategies can be tailored to meet the 

specific needs of, and be replicated in, communities of all sizes. Since the first Bank On program 

was launched in San Francisco in 2006, this model of financial access has been refined and 

replicated in large and small communities across the country. Regardless of the community size, 

the fundamental strategy to improve access to banking and transactional account services to 

traditionally unbanked and underbanked consumers has remained the same. Bank On provides 

a template for replicating employment-based youth financial capability programs in both rural 

and urban communities. In fact, by collaborating with existing Bank On partners, youth 

employment programs in communities as varied as Evansville, IN and Washington, DC have 

developed strategies to improve financial services for young workers.13 

2.3.2 DollarWise: Mayors for Financial Literacy 

The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) launched the DollarWise initiative in 2004 to 

incorporate financial education into summer youth employment programs in cities across the 

nation. The initiative is aligned with FLEC’s national financial education strategies and invites 

mayors and city staff to launch financial literacy initiatives in partnership with financial 

institutions, faith-based groups, nonprofits, and local businesses. USCM provides innovation 

grants, technical assistance, and access to five online financial literacy modules to participating 

cities. USCM encourages youth to complete the modules through a video contest and raffle, and 

they hope to incorporate a financial education component into every summer youth jobs 

program in the nation by 2015.14 

 

13 For more information about Bank On, see http://joinbankon.org. 

14 For more information about DollarWise, see: http://www.bedollarwise.org. 
13 

3. A selection of community 

efforts 

In recent years, a growing number of municipalities, community-based organizations, and 

national organizations have begun to explore strategies for helping youth build financial 

capability as they participate in local youth employment programs. They pursued this work as 

they recognized that, in addition to job training, youth need financial knowledge, skills and 

access to succeed as adults. Specific strategies include financial education classes and online 

training, incentive programs to encourage youth to save, and access to safe and affordable 

financial products. 

This section highlights the efforts of four communities where employment programs are helping 

youth gain not just job skills and experience, but also financial knowledge and skills. While each 

location approaches this work differently, all four are partnering with the private sector, 

financial institutions, and nonprofit organizations to provide financial education and safe 

financial products. In some cases, the local partners also receive support from federal agencies 

and national programs such as America Saves15 and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.16 

It is important to note that these four examples by no means represent the totality of efforts to 

build financial capability in the youth employment space. This brief highlights the work of these 

four communities because they represent a range of strategies for integration and offer a variety 

of financial products to young workers; they also bring a number of years of experience in 

 

15 America Saves is a campaign managed by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America that seeks to motivate, 

encourage, and support low- to moderate-income households to save money, reduce debt, and build wealth. For 

more information, see: http://www.americasaves.org/. 

16 The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. 

There are 1,399 such cities in the country today. Each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected 

official, the mayor. For more information, see: http://www.usmayors.org/.
14 

embedding financial capability into youth employment services. While the four communities 

spotlighted here – Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco – are all larger 

urban settings, similar promising work is also underway in many smaller and rural 

communities. 

3.1 Chicago, IL 

 Lead agency: The Economic Awareness Council (EAC), a nonprofit organization in 

Chicago that prepares students and families for economic and financial decisions.17 The 

EAC has partnered with local schools and youth services sites to provide financial 

education for more than a decade. 

 Project description: In 2010, EAC and Young America Saves (a campaign to help 

young people make savings a habit by pledging to save as little as $5 a month and by 

receiving special Saver Benefits as a reward for consistent saving) partnered to launch 

Young Illinois Saves.18 Through the Young Illinois Saves initiative, EAC is working with 

ten youth employment sites to provide financial education, enroll youth in direct deposit, 

and encourage young workers to make a goal-based savings pledge. 

 Key partners: The City Treasurer of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Youth and 

Family Services have been supportive of this effort, along with local employers and the 

50 agencies in the Young Illinois Saves coalition. 

 Financial institution partners: The initiative partners with several financial 

institutions to enroll youth in direct deposit and to connect them with safe and 

affordable financial products. Participating financial instutions include ABC Bank, 

 

17 For more information about the Economic Awareness Council, see: 

http://www.illinoisassetbuilding.org/content/economic-awareness-council. 

18 Young Illinois Saves is a statewide initiative supported by Young America Saves and local partners working to help 

young people develop savings habits. Young America Saves is seeking to expand the number of municipalities who 

participate in its saving pledge, and is currently partnering with youth employment programs in Cleveland and 

Indianapolis to encourage program participants to make a goal-based savings commitment and sign up for direct 

deposit. For more information about Young America Saves, see: http://americasaves.org/for-savers/youngamerica-saves. 
15 

Citibank, Community Plus Federal Credit Union, Guaranty Bank, MB Financial, TCF 

Bank, and Marquette Bank. 

 Key outcomes: In 2013, 308 youth (74 percent of program participants) opened new 

bank accounts or signed up for direct deposit. Two hundred and fifty-five youth (62 

percent) took a savings pledge and pledged to save an average of $54 per month. Of 

those who took the pledge, 78 percent pledged to save for education, 8 percent for a 

vehicle, and 5 percent to put aside money for emergencies.19 In previous years, youth 

employees reported that they saved between $94 and $442 over the summer. 

3.2 Philadelphia, PA 

 Lead agency: The Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) is a nonprofit intermediary 

organization that prepares young people for both educational and economic success. 

PYN serves as the managing partner of WorkReady Philadelphia, a nationally-recognized 

youth workforce development system. 

 Project description: PYN provides payroll cards with linked savings accounts and 

financial education to youth in the WorkReady program in Philadelphia. PYN manages 

WorkReady, which is the City of Philadelphia’s youth workforce development system. 

This city-wide initiative is a cross-sector partnership that combines public and private 

funding to improve the economic outcomes of youth through six- to eight-week paid 

work experiences. PYN sub-contracts with more than 50 programs that provide work 

experiences and job training programs to youth workers. PYN coordinates the payroll for 

these youth through a payroll card that provides a young person a noncustodial bank 

account. WorkReady experiences include the opportunity to participate in financial 

education. 

 Key partners: City of Philadelphia, Council for College and Career Success, Greater 

Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, investors, more than 1,000 youth worksites, 50 

 

19 These represent the top three savings goals. Nine percent of youth saved for something other than education, a 

vehicle, or emergencies.
16 

nonprofit organizations that run financial education programs, and the Pennsylvania 

Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

 Financial institution partners: FSV Payments Systems is PYN’s Paycard provider. 

FSV creates the accounts and provides customer support for the paycards and accounts 

that are created for PYN youth. PYN partners with Citizens Bank to provide PYN youth 

with surcharge-free access to the Citizens Bank ATM network. Also, PNC Bank partners 

with Wawa stores to provide access to financial services at PNC ATMs with no fees for 

PYN cardholders.

 Key outcomes: In 2013, WorkReady programs served 7,667 youth in the summer, with 

a total of 9,813 served throughout the year. From July to September 2013, 4,807 youth 

received a payroll debit card from PYN. Of these youth, 506 opted to have a portion of 

their earnings automatically deposited into a savings account. The associated banking 

website which contains budgeting and financial literacy information, recorded 11,212 hits 

during this time period.

3.3 Washington, D.C. 

 Lead agency: The D.C. Department of Employment Services (DC DOES) and Bank on 

DC20, which is run by the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking. 

 Project description: DC DOES and Bank on DC partner to offer financial education 

and access to a checking and savings account to participants in the Summer Youth 

Employment Program (SYEP). The Washington, D.C. SYEP is a six-week employment 

program run by DC DOES. In 2013, nearly 500 employers provided jobs for almost 

15,000 youth ages 14 to 21 enrolled in SYEP. 

 Key partners: Bank on DC leverages its network of partners to provide financial 

education and access to bank accounts to youth employees. Partners include financial 

education providers such as Junior Achievement, Operation Hope, and Capital Area 

 

20 Bank on DC is a collaborative effort between district government, financial institutions, and nonprofits to provide 

access to financial services and products to unbanked and underbanked households in the DC Metro Area. For more 

information, see: http://www.bankondc.org/. 
17 

Asset Builders; technology partners such as EverFi and HelloWallet; and the Financial 

Literacy Education Advisors, summer youth employers, local bank partners, and the 

Executive Office of the Mayor. 

 Financial institution partners: SYEP offers direct deposit and partners with 

Citibank, HEW Federal Credit Union, and the District Government Employees Federal 

Credit Union to get young workers banked. 

 Key outcomes: In 2013, nearly 49 percent of eligible youth (more than 5,200) opened 

accounts through the program. SYEP also provides instructor-led and web-based 

financial education; more than 3,600 youth participated in these workshops in 2013. 

Participants completed pre- and post-tests and increased their scores by 19 percent. 

3.4 San Francisco, CA 

 Lead agency: MyPath, formerly known as Mission SF Community Financial Center, is 

a nonprofit organization that works to position low-income youth and young adults to 

take control of their financial lives and achieve economic mobility. 

 Project description: The MyPath: Savings program provides peer-to-peer financial 

education, a savings account tied to an ATM card, enrollment in direct deposit, and 

incentives to set and meet personal financial goals to youth. Participants are drawn from 

the workforce development programs throughout the city, including the Mayor’s Youth 

Employment and Education Program (MYEEP). 

 Key partners: MyPath partners with the City of San Francisco’s Department of 

Children, Youth and Their Families and its Office of Financial Empowerment, as well as 

numerous local youth employment providers. MyPath receives evaluation support from 

the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Washington University in St. Louis Center 

for Social Development, and Eastern Washington University. MyPath also receives 

extensive funding support from local and national foundations and banks. 

 Financial institution partner: Self-Help Federal Credit Union 

 Key outcomes: The evaluators found that the 197 program participants saved an 

average of $1,210 in their accounts. Specifically, 39 percent of participants reported that 
18 

they saved most of their income each month, 39 percent reported that they saved half of 

their income, and 21 percent reported that they saved little of their income.21

 

21 For more information about the MyPath: Savings Program, see: http://www.frbsf.org/communitydevelopment/files/wp2013-03.pdf. 
19 

4. Lessons shared by 

roundtable participants 

This section highlights both the lessons shared at the November 6, 2013 roundtable, and 

reflections that participants had on implementing similar initiatives in other communities.22 The 

characteristics of these successful programs include strong partnerships among nonprofit, 

government and private sectors; identifiable strategies that build financial knowledge, skills, 

access, and savings; and thoughtful approaches to engaging youth in both the short and long 

term. The following four sections describe each of these characteristics, provide specific 

examples from current practice, and present considerations for organizations seeking to 

implement similar programs. 

4.1 Partnerships 

Each of the lead agencies formed strong partnerships with local, regional, and national 

organizations. Partners played a variety of roles in each community, from organizing youth 

employment programs and directly hiring young workers to developing financial education 

curricula and financial products. Above all, leaders in the four communities found that the key 

to creating successful partnerships is to identify overlapping priorities and/or goals for the lead 

and partner agencies, and to align the role of each partner with the resources (time, money, etc.) 

that they can dedicate to the effort. 

 

22 The information in this section is based on an initial review of the field and is not intended as an exhaustive field 

assessment or implementation guide. 
20 

4.1.1 Examples from current practice 

Local government agencies 

City of Chicago 

The Department of Children and Youth Services and City Treasurer 

support EAC’s efforts in Chicago to build financial capability in the city’s 

youth employment programs. 

City of San Francisco 

The San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families was 

an early funder of the MyPath: Savings program and, along with the Office 

of Financial Empowerment, has encouraged youth workforce programs to 

participate. 

Local employers 

Chicago youth 

employers 

Employers in Chicago discovered that young workers were losing portions 

of their paychecks to check cashers each month, so they established 

methods that allow youth to directly deposit their paychecks into a low-fee 

bank account. 

D.C. youth employers 

Employers host financial education on site or through virtual platforms. 

Program partners in Chicago and Washington, D.C. also incorporate 

financial information and services into employee orientation activities. 

Financial service providers 

D.C. financial 

institutions 

In the DC SYEP, two financial institutions provide financial services to 

youth through payroll. Citibank provides a paycard, and two local credit 

unions – District Government Employees Federal Credit Union (DGEFCU) 

and HEW Federal Credit Union (HEWFCU) – offer free checking and 

savings accounts tailored to youth. 

Philadelphia financial 

service providers 

In Philadelphia, PYN partners with FSV Payment Systems to deposit 

youth earnings onto a payroll card with youth-friendly features. PYN and 

FSV partner with Citizens Bank, which provides a no-fee ATM network to 

FSV card holders. 

San Francisco credit 

union 

In San Francisco, MyPath is co-located with Self-Help Federal Credit 

Union, which has been a key partner in developing financial products 

tailored to the youth and young adults MyPath serves. 
21 

Other partners 

Philanthropic 

organizations 

The MyPath: Savings program in San Francisco is supported through a 

number of local and national foundations and banks, who have played a 

critical role in supporting the youth financial capability initiative. 

Local professional 

volunteers 

In Philadelphia, PYN partnered with the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified 

Public Accountants to develop financial education materials. 

Technology companies 

Bank on DC partners with EverFi, an education technology company, to 

offer a web-based financial education platform. They also partner with 

HelloWallet, a money management tool that helps employees make the 

most of their paychecks. MyPath is partnering with Second Nature 

Learning to develop an interactive online curriculum for the MyPath: 

Savings program. 

Workforce development 

programs 

MyPath collaborates with workforce organizations in San Francisco, 

including the Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program 

(MYEEP), which is a collaboration of nonprofit organizations whose 

mission is to help youth access employment by providing job readiness 

training, work experience, academic support, and personal development. 

The workforce development programs help MyPath with on-the-ground 

implementation of the MyPath: Savings program. 

Academic institutions 

The Washington University in St. Louis Center for Social Development 

and Eastern Washington University help evaluate the MyPath: Savings 

program in San Francisco. 

Mentoring and youth 

development program 

In San Francisco, MyPath partners with Year Up, an organization that 

provides a one-year, intensive training program for low-income young 

adults, ages 18-24, to integrate a credit-building-focused initiative called 

MyPath: Credit. 

4.1.2 Implications for practice 

 Partnerships can fill important gaps in service delivery. Youth employment 

programs face challenges with limited and uncertain federal, state, or local support. 

Municipalities and other entities implementing these programs work hard to ensure that 

programs stay funded, have enough jobs to meet youth demand, and offer youth access 

to the additional support services they need. These challenges can make it difficult to 

incorporate additional services that build youth financial capability, even where there are 

dedicated local resources. Youth employment providers that want to offer such services 

may find it necessary to build a network of external partners who can support specific 

components of the program, such as financial education. 
22 

 Prospective financial institution partners may be attracted by the potential 

to expand their customer base among young workers. Building a younger 

customer base will require banks and credit unions to consider the specific needs of 

youth and tailor their products, including savings accounts, credit-building products, 

and payroll cards accordingly. Banks and credit unions are sometimes reluctant to work 

with youth employment programs due to the costs of opening accounts for youth who 

may close them at the end of their short-term employment. However, financial 

institutions may be able to outweigh these costs if they are able to convert short-term 

workers into long-term customers, or sign up large numbers of youth for debit cards that 

generate transaction fees paid by the point-of-sale vendor. 

4.2 Financial education 

Financial education providers are continually searching for new strategies to make financial 

education relevant and engaging for youth. In some youth employment programs, financial 

education is provided via structured in-person group classes, while elsewhere, participants use 

self-paced online courses and complete them independently. Of the classes that are taught in 

person, some are youth-led while others are taught by volunteers. 

Youth employment programs around the country are partnering with local asset-building 

coalitions, nonprofits, financial institutions, and Bank On networks to extend opportunities for 

financial education to young workers. 

4.2.1 Examples from current practice 

In Washington, D.C., community-based organizations, banks and youth deliver on-site 

financial education. Bank on DC selects youth instructors from the pool of SYEP participants, 

and they undergo a 100-hour training program to be Young Money Managers. After the Young 

Money Managers complete their intensive training, they travel to summer youth employment 

sites to deliver financial education classes to their peers. Washington, D.C. also uses an online 

platform developed by EverFi that is self-paced and accessible to the youth even after they 

complete the class and their summer employment. Employers can choose which type of financial 

education they want to provide at their site. 

In the Philadelphia WorkReady program, PYN offers an online tutorial about how to use the 

payroll card, but each program partner has flexibility in how they deliver financial education to 
23 

youth participants during their youth development activities. One example is a module PYN 

created in partnership with the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and 

tailored to meet youth program needs. 

In San Francisco, MyPath and its youth leaders worked with Second Nature Learning (which 

is a technology company that develops apps to help children and youth build good personal 

finance habits) to develop the web-based interactive curriculum, MyPath Online. To 

complement these activities, MyPath employs a train-the-trainer model. Staff and youth leaders 

at employment sites complete a six-hour training to lead in-person reflection sessions about 

MyPath Online activities. In this way, MyPath has retained the impact of in-person, peer-led 

interaction while harnessing the power of technology to achieve scale. 

Program partners in Chicago provide a range of financial education programs that varies 

according to the amount of time and resources financial education providers and employers 

have available. Pre- and post-tests assess changes in knowledge and behavior as a result of 

financial education. At a minimum, EAC provides an orientation about banking to youth 

participants. Youth can earn badges as they complete this three-part series of videos. The videos 

are comprised primarily of youth stories and explain why banking is important, how to select a 

high-quality bank account, and how to set up direct deposit. 

4.2.2 Implications for practice 

 Financial messages should be tailored so that they are relevant at the time 

someone is facing a particular life choice or decision. Youth workers cover a 

wide range of age groups and life stages, with a similarly wide range of perspectives and 

priorities. Customizing financial education may mean including financial aid 

information for youth who are in later high school years, or sharing information about 

building up credit for those in their early twenties. 

 “Meeting youth where they are” – in both the content and delivery of 

information – may increase the likelihood that they will absorb that 

information. It is no secret that youth are avid users of social media and adept at using 

technology. Social media, online education, mobile apps – all are powerful avenues to 

deliver financial capability tools and information. Program partners can offer online or 

phone-based financial education modules that allow youth to learn at their own pace and 

on their own terms. 
24 

 Financial education is more likely to be relevant, accessible, and applicable 

to youth if they help develop and design it. Youth can provide valuable feedback 

during content development, and often enjoy hearing from their peers who are facing 

many of the same financial decisions and barriers. 

4.3 Financial products 

All of the communities highlighted here seek to leverage the “teachable moment” of employment 

to provide safe and affordable financial products for youth to use, with goals of helping youth 

avoid high fees, encouraging savings, and connecting young people to mainstream financial 

services for the long term. These employers used financial products such as payroll cards, a 

debit card that can be linked to a savings account, low-fee checking and savings accounts, and a 

savings account with incentives for youth who set and reach personal savings goals. 

4.3.1 Examples from current practice 

DC DOES works with Citibank to provide all youth direct deposit onto a prepaid card. 

Drawbacks to the prepaid card were that youth were charged fees, and prepaid cards generally 

are not the best instruments to use to encourage youth to build positive long-term savings 

habits. DC DOES also partnered with two credit unions to provide checking and savings 

accounts into which youth automatically deposited their earnings without fees. Partners in 

Washington, D.C. also recognized that providing a narrow window of opportunity to enroll in 

direct deposit reduces the number of youth who sign up for it, so they plan to offer multiple 

enrollment opportunities in the future. 

In San Francisco, MyPath works with Self-Help Federal Credit Union to provide youth with 

two savings accounts: a restricted savings account to encourage participants to meet a savings 

goal, and a regular savings account tied to an ATM card. Both of these accounts have limited 

fees, do not require parent signatures, and cannot be overdrawn. The MyPath: Savings program 

supports participants to set personal financial goals and includes incentives to meet them; since 

2011, participants have saved more than $500,000. 

Every participant in Philadelphia’s WorkReady program is paid through direct deposit onto a 

payroll card that functions like a Visa debit card and is provided by FSV Payment Systems. 

Youth can link the card to an existing bank account or open a new savings account to link to the 

card. These cards offer additional protections for youth, since they do not allow overdrafts. To 
25 

promote efficiency, PYN collects information needed to open the payroll card during the 

application process and automatically sends this information to FSV so that they can open 

thousands of accounts at a time. 

4.3.2 Implications for practice 

 Some young people or their parents may find it hard to open bank accounts 

for youth. Some of this may be because of perceived profitability of these relationships. 

Additionally, whether a bank or credit union is willling to open an account for a minor 

without a custodian depends on their policies. Even when financial institutions are 

willing to open accounts for youth, some will verify the identity of youth opening a 

savings account using identification issued by schools, but others may only accept stateissued identification. 

 More youth-friendly product offerings are needed. Features that make financial 

products youth-friendly include low or no fees, ease in using the product, and no 

requirement for parental signatures. Some types of financial institutions, such as 

community banks and local credit unions, may be more willing to negotiate lower fees 

and other features on products for youth. Finally, young workers need education and 

information from financial institutions about the terms of their financial products and 

how to effectively manage them. 

 Financial institutions can help automate processes and reduce barriers to 

enrollment and participation. Behavioral economics research has shown that giving 

participants the option to opt out of a service instead of opting in can substantially 

increase take-up. Program partners should work with financial institution partners to 

automate services such as account opening and direct deposit. 
26 

4.4 Participant communication and 

engagement 

Efforts to engage youth are important both during and after the employment program. During 

the program, organizations have used social media and peer facilitators to engage youth. While 

organizations have a captive audience while youth are employed, they struggle to make the 

financial components “sticky” after youth exit the program.23 

4.4.1 Examples from current practice 

 Some organizations have tried to use email to follow up with youth, but find that very 

few use email and that social media is a more effective form of communication. Both DC 

DOES and Bank on DC encourage youth to use social media during training sessions to 

share what they are learning. 

 Through their partnership with Bank on DC, DC DOES also allows youth to access their 

online financial education platform beyond the term of the employment program so that 

they can re-visit lessons and share the material with family members. They found that 

many parents used the online platform as well, and believe this helps increase financial 

knowledge of the entire household. 

 Bank on DC and MyPath in San Francisco both utilize an engaging peer educator 

model in which youth are trained to facilitate financial education classes and 

conversations about financial issues. 

4.4.2 Implications for practice 

 Incentives can lead to higher participation rates. Organizations have found that 

incentives – including prizes, financial rewards, certificates, and recognition – can lead 

to higher participation rates. Participants can be incentivized to complete financial 

education, sign up for direct deposit, save regularly, or reach a specific financial goal. 

 

23 Longer engagement is especially important for initiatives that are measuring behavior change, which takes more 

time to achieve than changes in knowledge. Many youth employment programs only last a few months. Questions 

remain about what indicators are best to measure behavior change and how long behavior changes need to be 

measured to know whether it has been achieved.
27 

Specific incentives may vary according to the resources available, goals and priorities of 

youth, and the creativity of program partners. 

 Payroll and orientation are touch points for increasing access to financial 

services and encouraging savings behaviors. Nearly all employers devote time to 

orienting youth to the jobsite and can use this opportunity to introduce financial 

information and resources, such as encouraging unbanked workers to open basic 

accounts and promoting direct deposit. To reduce administrative burdens and increase 

take-up, employers should consider automating these services as much as possible by 

incorporating them into the application process, payroll forms, and orientation activities. 

 Relationships matter. Peer facilitators and leaders can increase youth engagement in 

program activities by easily relating to youth on a personal level. Taking this a step 

further, youth can be organized into affinity groups according to their age or life stage. 

For example, young parents may have a different financial situation than non-parenting 

youth and may need opportunities to discuss their specific financial goals and challenges 

with peers who are facing the same issues. Beyond the employment program, 

organizations can maintain ongoing contact with youth through use of texting, social 

media, and partnerships with schools or other youth-serving institutions. 

 Families play a key role in how youth hear, perceive, and act on financial 

education messages. Taking this influence into account, youth employment programs 

may want to explore how financial capability activities and conversations can involve 

family members and friends. 

 Financial education and services can be designed so that youth can continue 

to access them even after they exit the program. Engaging youth beyond the 

program period allows organizations to continue helping youth build financial capability 

but doing so can be resource intensive, especially if efforts include continued touch 

points. An alternative, lighter touch option is to make sure youth have access to services, 

such as financial education or bank accounts, after the employment program ends. 
28 

5. Conclusion 

Youth employment programs present a unique opportunity to reach young people with 

important financial messages and resources at a time when they are building habits that may 

last throughout their working lives. Organizations and individuals across the country are 

developing innovative ideas, resources and programs to help youth build financial capability 

while they participate in employment programs. While this was not an exhaustive review of 

current efforts to build financial capability through youth employment programs, conversations 

with these four programs revealed valuable lessons about how other organizations can expand 

these efforts. For example: identifying the right partners with shared goals is very important; 

developing a flexible program allows for evaluation and refinement along the way; and setting 

goals is an effective strategy for youth. Beyond these specific lessons, four key strategies 

emerged from the roundtable discussion: 

 Partnerships with the private sector, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, 

financial institutions and youth are necessary for program success and expansion. 

 Financial education needs to be tailored to meet the needs of youth, employers, and 

financial education providers. 

 Financial products offered to youth should be carefully selected by weighing the costs 

and risks of various options. 

 Organizations should develop explicit strategies for engaging youth in the short and 

long term. 

Leaders in communities of varying sizes and geographies can use these lessons to advance 

effective strategies for building youth financial capability in employment programs. While there 

is growing momentum to leverage employment programs to build youth financial capability, 

there is not a clearly defined field pursuing this work. Stakeholders will need to decide in coming 

years whether these efforts ought to become a more clearly defined field of its own and if so, how 

to support those efforts. 
29 

5.1 Further research and evaluation 

Leaders in this work will also need to continue working to test new initiatives. Despite the 

promising practices and lessons learned highlighted in this document, there are still gaps in the 

knowledge base for this work that require additional research and evaluation. Federal agencies 

working on this issue will explore how they can begin to fill these gaps. Lessons from these 

efforts will be used to develop new tools to help more communities take this work to scale. 

Stakeholders such as federal program managers, municipal leaders, financial institutions, 

national intermediaries, philanthropic partners, private sector employers, and communitybased organizations will be key to moving this work forward and building on lessons learned. 

 
30 

APPENDIX A: FEDERAL INTEREST IN FINANCIAL 

CAPABILITY FOR YOUNG AMERICANS 

In recent years, a number of federal entities have focused new attention on building financial 

capability, including increasing access to financial education and financial services for young 

workers and consumers. They include: 

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), established by the Fair and 

Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, is charged with coordinating federal financial 

education efforts and a national strategy on financial education. FLEC is chaired by the 

Secretary of the Treasury, and its vice chair is the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau (see below); its members come from 22 federal agencies. FLEC recently launched the 

“Starting Early for Financial Success” initiative, in an effort to help enhance the financial 

capability of more young Americans. The strategy builds on the experience and resources of 

these 22 federal agencies to help young people develop an understanding of financial basics as 

they begin their careers. This new effort also aims to help parents and teachers prepare young 

people for financial success. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Health 

and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) are 

supporting FLEC’s “Starting Early for Financial Success” strategy by leveraging their existing 

resources to promote economic stability and well-being, and to provide services and 

opportunities for mobility to low-income Americans. 

 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB )was created by the Dodd-Frank Act 

of 2010, which mandated establishment of a unit whose activities include providing 

information, guidance, and technical assistance regarding the offering and provision of 

consumer financial products or services to traditionally underserved consumers and 

communities, including those who are unbanked and underbanked. Within CFPB, the 

Office of Financial Empowerment is developing partnership efforts to ensure that the 

millions of underserved young Americans receive tools and opportunities to develop the 

financial skills necessary to effectively navigate the financial services marketplace. 

 The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is guided by the vision of “children, 

youth, families, individuals, and communities who are resilient, safe, healthy, and 

economically secure.” ACF seeks to advance that vision by providing federal leadership, 

partnership, and resources for the compassionate and effective delivery of human 
31 

services. ACF is responsible for federal stewardship of a set of programs that provide 

essential services and supports for millions of Americans. Through grants 

administration, research, technical assistance, and policy guidance, ACF seeks to support 

national, state, territorial, tribal, and local efforts to strengthen families and 

communities and promote opportunity and economic mobility. 

ACF’s efforts directly support the President’s commitment to promote and advance 

economic mobility and opportunity. A strategy to promote economic mobility and 

opportunity needs to focus on broadening opportunities across the life cycle – expanding 

access to high quality early childhood settings, promoting success in elementary and 

secondary school, ensuring effective transitions to work and postsecondary education, 

providing career pathways to labor market progress for adults, and helping families build 

assets. 

Supporting youth employment and youth financial capability development is a natural fit 

for ACF. ACF encourages state and tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 

(TANF) programs and state Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) programs to 

prioritize youth employment. ACF also supports education, vocational training, and asset 

building for youth in foster care transitioning to adulthood. Finally, ACF encourages the 

integration of asset building and financial capability into social services and programs 

for low-income and vulnerable populations. ACF seeks to coordinate and collaborate 

with other federal agencies and non-federal partners in these efforts. 

Other relevant federal resources and initiatives include: 

 The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provides access to data on 

the number of U.S. households that are unbanked and underbanked, their demographic 

characteristics, and their reasons for being unbanked and underbanked through an 

interactive website, www.economicinclusion.gov. The site also provides a gateway to 

research, data, and resources for consumers, banks, policymakers, and others regarding 

issues related to underserved populations and the use of alternative financial services. 

 Both the FDIC and the Department of the Treasury have piloted initiatives to 

improve financial services for consumers. FDIC’s Model Safe Account pilot and the 
32 

Department of Treasury’s Community Financial Access Pilot both provided useful 

information on ways product innovations can help improve access to financial services.24 

 The Federal Reserve System is involved in the USCM DollarWise program, and the 

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is a key partner in the program in San Francisco 

aimed at building financial capability through the City’s youth employment program. 

 The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration 

oversees funding for the Workforce Investment Act and offers policy guidance and 

technical assistance to state and local workforce development organizations. Integrating 

financial capability programming and services into youth employment programs is a 

natural extension of this work and FLEC’s agenda to expand financial capability for 

young Americans. 

 The new President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young 

Americans was created by President Obama in 2013. The purpose of the Council is to 

contribute to the Nation’s future financial stability and increase upward economic 

mobility. The Council will provide advice to the President and the Secretary of the 

Treasury on how to promote the financial capability of young Americans and encourage 

building the financial capability of young people at an early stage in schools, families, 

communities, and the workplace, and through use of technology. Strengthening the 

financial capability of our young people is an investment in our Nation’s economic 

prosperity. The Council is comprised of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of 

Education, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and up to 22 nongovernmental members.25 

 

24 To learn more about the Model Safe Accounts Pilot, see: http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/template/. To learn more 

about the Community Financial Access Pilot, see: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financialeducation/Pages/CFAP.aspx. 

25 For a list of the non-governmental members, see: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financialeducation/Documents/PACFCYA%20Bios%20with%20Pics%20for%20website.pdf. 
33 

Acknowledgements 

The CFPB and ACF would like to thank all who attended the November 6, 2013 roundtable and 

shared their insights about building youth financial capability in employment programs. We 

would especially like to thank the organizations in the four communities discussed in this paper 

for their leadership in this area and for taking the time to share their findings and lessons 

learned.