Financial Literacy and Education Commission, January 2017

Resource Guide for Youth Employment Programs: 

Incorporating Financial Capability and Partnering with Financial Institutions

This resource guide is for youth employment 

programs that are interested in enhancing 

financial capability1 and building partnerships 

with financial institutions. It maps out how and 

why such partnerships can help young people2

achieve greater financial well-being and 

employment success.

This document highlights youth employment 

programs funded under the Workforce 

Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)3 and 

locally-funded programs that have formed

strong and effective partnerships with financial 

institutions. It is being published as a 

companion to a resource guide for financial 

institutions on this same topic4 and is intended 

to help more programs build on these successful 

approaches.

Background

As the President’s Advisory Council on 

Financial Capability for Young Americans 

concluded, “When young people receive their 

first paycheck, they are primed to learn more 

about money management and have a unique 

opportunity to make a timely and informed 

 1 “Financial capability is the capacity, based on knowledge, 

skills, and access, to manage financial resources prudently 

and effectively. Efforts to improve financial capability, which 

should be based on evidence of effectiveness, empower 

individuals to make informed choices, plan and set goals, 

avoid pitfalls, know where to seek help, and take other 

actions to better their present and long-term financial wellbeing.” Executive Order 13646: see 78 FR 39159 (June 28, 

2013).

2 Unless otherwise specified, in this document the terms 

“youth” and “young people” generally refer to individuals 

aged 14 to 24 participating in employment training programs. 3 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Public Law 

113-128, July 22, 2014.

choice about their new income.”5 Many young 

people participating in employment programs 

do not know how to access mainstream financial 

products and services. A study of youth 

participating in summer employment programs 

found that nearly half of them were unbanked at 

the start of their program.6 The Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has found that 

households headed by individuals age 15 to 24 

are almost twice as likely to be unbanked than 

the national average,

7 and only one in five

youth, ages 15 to 17, living at home have a bank 

account of their own. Access to a financial 

institution is a key starting point for building 

financial capability.

It is critical to provide young people in 

employment programs with the appropriate 

resources to encourage financial capability. 

Youth employment programs can support this 

mission by incorporating financial education 

and access to safe and appropriate financial 

products. When these components are presented 

 4 Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), 

Resource Guide for Financial Institutions: Incorporating 

Financial Capability into Youth Employment Programs, 

November 2016. https://www.treasury.gov/resourcecenter/financialeducation/SiteAssets/Pages/flec11032016/Resource%20Guid

e%20for%20Financial%20Institutions_FLEC%20D11%202

%2016.pdf. 5 President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for 

Young Americans Final Report: 

https://www.treasury.gov/resourcecenter/financialeducation/Documents/PACFCYA%20Final%

20Report%20June%202015.pdf. 6 Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, Summer Jobs 

Connect: More Than A Job, at 18 (February 2015), available 

at: http://cfefund.org/info/our-projects#summer-jobs-connect. 7 2015 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked 

Households (October 2016), available at: 

https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey.
Financial Literacy and Education Commission, January 2017 - Page 2

together, they result in even more effective 

financial capability outcomes for youth than if 

either component is presented alone. Efforts are 

most effective when both the education and 

access are customized to participants’ needs. In 

order to create these successful programs, a 

partnership with a financial institution is 

essential.

Partnerships between youth employment 

programs and financial institutions can be 

rewarding to both parties. Finding the right 

partnerships can help youth employment 

providers better serve their youth and financial 

institutions to further their business and civic 

goals. 

What is WIOA funding and why is this 

significant in expanding youth financial 

capability?

WIOA was enacted in July 2014 to provide 

funding, resources, services, training, leadership, 

and support for workforce development and 

related programs across the country. The law is 

intended to improve an individual’s prospect for 

success in the labor market by helping him or 

her find, train for, and maintain a job. WIOA 

also helps businesses by connecting them with 

potential employees. 

Under WIOA, the U.S. Department of Labor 

(DOL) supports youth employment programs 

that provide paid employment opportunities for 

low- and moderate-income in-school youth, ages 

14 to 21, and out-of-school youth, ages 16 to 24, 

who meet other eligibility requirements. Locally

funded programs may use different definitions of 

youth for eligibility purposes, but often target 

these same age groups.

WIOA differs from past legislation related to 

federal job training programs by including 

financial literacy as a program element. A local 

recipient of WIOA formula funds must offer or

make available a financial literacy curriculum or 

training to youth participating in its local

workforce program. The training must support 

youth’s ability to create budgets, open checking 

and savings accounts at financial institutions, 

learn about credit, and make informed financial 

decisions.8 Since this training is now a 

requirement of many youth employment 

programs, there is an even greater opportunity 

for collaboration with financial institutions, 

whether or not the programs receive WIOA 

funding.

How can youth employment programs help 

participants build financial capability?

Youth employment programs have used 

different practices to help participants build 

financial capability. Some programs match 

young workers with mentors or coaches, to help 

them identify savings goals and develop 

budgeting skills to work toward these goals. 

Young workers also work with mentors and 

coaches to learn about building credit and how 

to repair a credit history. Some programs offer 

incentives to develop good financial habits. A 

recent study documented that a combination of 

these approaches has measurable impact on the 

participants’ financial knowledge, and resulted

 8 DOL, WIOA Final Rule, 

https://doleta.gov/wioa/Docs/wioa-regs-labor-final-rule.pdf.

Example: In St. Louis, MO, the St. Louis 

Agency on Training and Employment 

(S.L.A.T.E.), a WIOA formula fund recipient, 

has partnered with a local credit union to 

offer robust financial literacy training and a 

tailored transactional account for all youth 

participants. During the enrollment process 

for the Summer Youth Employment Program 

(SYEP), youth applicants are assigned a 

trained job coach, who explains the benefits 

of banking and can help facilitate an account 

opening with the partner credit union at that 

moment. Participants are required to enroll 

in direct deposit, and continue to interact 

with the trained job coaches throughout the 

summer.
Financial Literacy and Education Commission, January 2017

in positive financial outcomes, including 

increased banking and savings rates and better 

money management skills.9

Many youth employment programs provide 

participants with information about, and access 

to, a range of financial products and services, so 

participants can make informed decisions about 

what best meets their needs. Products and 

services can range from directing participants to 

free or low-cost direct deposit accounts, to 

providing connections to federal financial aid 

information for youth who are interested in 

college or career school. There are free federal

resources on how to get started with financial 

education, many of which are highlighted at the 

end of this document.

What are the opportunities for youth 

employment programs to work with financial 

institutions?

Youth employment programs have found that 

many financial institutions are interested in 

deepening their engagement with communities

and working with local programs, non-profit 

 9 Vernon Loke, et al., Boosting the Power of Youth 

Paychecks: Integrating Financial Capability into Youth 

Employment Programs, at 4 (April 2016), Federal Reserve 

Bank of San Francisco & MyPath available at: 

http://mypathus.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Boostingthe-Power-of-Youth-Paychecks.pdf. 

organizations, and others to deliver financial 

education to young people. Financial institutions 

are also tailoring financial products and services 

to better serve the youth participating in such 

programs.

Financial institutions have found that working 

with youth employment programs can connect 

them to a new, young set of customers or 

members and future employees. Youth in these 

programs are encouraged, and in some cases 

incentivized to participate in financial education 

workshops, seminars or games; sign up for direct 

deposit; save regularly; or reach a specific 

financial goal.

Additionally, workforce programs have found 

that some financial institutions may support 

youth in other ways, for example, by offering 

internships and employment opportunities in 

connection with youth employment programs. 

These financial institutions can help lay the 

foundation for a diverse and more inclusive 

workforce. The WIOA programs may be able to 

further contribute to these efforts.

Example: In New York, NY, the local SYEP 

is helping youth build financial capability 

by encouraging youth to take advantage of 

direct deposit. NYC SYEP has incorporated 

financial nudges into the online application 

and enrollment process to educate and 

encourage youth to sign-up for direct 

deposit and split savings. Since prioritizing 

direct deposit, 30 percent of participants 

(i.e. about 16,000 youth) are now enrolled, 

up from zero participation a few years ago. 

All participants are also required to 

participate in an orientation that covers 

financial management and the benefits of 

using an account with a financial 

institution.

Example: In Washington, DC, the local 

SYEP and Bank On DC have partnered with 

two local financial institutions to offer free 

checking and savings accounts to young 

people, which can be opened online. One of 

the accounts offered is a non-custodial 

account, open to participants age 14 and 

older. The program also hires and trains 

peer educators, known as Young Money 

Managers, to teach financial education 

workshops to all SYEP participants at their 

employment sites. DC SYEP also uses a selfpaced online platform that youth 

participants may access even after their 

summer employment ends.
Financial Literacy and Education Commission, January 2017 - Page 4

What are other reasons that financial 

institutions might work with youth 

employment programs?

Several factors encourage financial institutions 

to engage with youth employment programs. In 

addition to exposure to a new set of customers or 

members and future employees, these factors 

may include compliance with legislation, and 

access to federal funds. 

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was 

enacted to encourage banks and savings 

associations (collectively, banks)10 to help meet 

the credit needs of all segments of their 

communities, including low- and moderateincome neighborhoods and individuals. The 

CRA and its implementing regulations require 

the three federal banking agencies – the FDIC, 

the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System (FRB), and the Office of the Comptroller 

of the Currency (OCC) – to assess the record of 

their respective supervised banks in meeting the 

credit needs of their communities, and to 

consider those records in evaluating and 

approving applications for charters, bank 

mergers, acquisitions, and branch openings.

Financial literacy and education programs 

targeted to low- and moderate-income youth that 

are responsive to community needs may receive 

favorable consideration as responsive, 

innovative, or flexible services, or as community 

development activities under the CRA, 

depending on the size and type of the institution 

and type of CRA evaluation.

CRA consideration may also be given to banks 

that provide retail banking services that improve 

access to financial services, or decrease costs, 

for low- or moderate-income individuals, such 

as low-cost deposit accounts. Examples of bank 

support for financial literacy programs that may

 10 CRA applies to FDIC-insured depository institutions, such 

as national banks, savings associations, and state-chartered 

commercial and savings banks.

receive favorable consideration under the CRA 

include:

11

• Investments in, or contributions to, a 

program, activity, or organization that 

provides credit counseling, personal money 

management, and other financial services 

education programs targeted to low- and 

moderate-income youth.

• Investments in organizations supporting 

activities essential to the ability of low- and 

moderate-income individuals or geographies 

to use credit or to sustain economic 

development, such as job training programs 

or workforce development programs that 

enable low- or moderate-income individuals 

to work.

• Providing bank staff to serve as educators in 

financial literacy programs targeted to lowand moderate-income youth.

The Community Development Financial 

Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), part of the U.S. 

Department of the Treasury, supports missiondriven financial institutions working on a local 

level. Financial institutions that become certified 

by the CDFI Fund are eligible to apply for the 

comprehensive services it offers, including 

monetary support and training to build 

organization capacity.12 Through the Bank 

Enterprise Award Program, the CDFI Fund 

provides monetary awards to FDIC-insured 

financial institutions that successfully 

demonstrate an increase in their lending, 

investing, or service activities in distressed 

communities, including youth savings 

accounts.13

 11 Community Reinvestment Act; Interagency Questions and 

Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment; Guidance, 81 

Fed. Reg. 48506 (July 25, 2016), available at 

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-07-25/pdf/2016-

16693.pdf. 12 https://www.cdfifund.gov/Documents/CDFI_Brochure.pdf 13 https://www.cdfifund.gov/programstraining/Programs/bank_enterprise_award/Pages/applystep.aspx#step12.
Financial Literacy and Education Commission, January 2017

The Federal Credit Union Act provides that 

federal credit unions are organized for, among 

other things, promoting thrift among its 

members.14 This provision is the basis for credit 

unions’ youth savings programs, and can be the 

basis for working with youth employment 

programs.

What are youth-friendly account features 

and services that financial institutions may 

offer?

Young people save more when given the 

opportunity to open accounts that come with 

youth-friendly account features.15 When 

financial institutions create products using safe 

youth account standards16 (such as those based 

on the Bank On National Account Standards17), 

it results in higher account enrollment rates.

Many employment programs and financial 

institutions are successfully meeting the

financial needs of young people through one or 

more types of savings and transaction accounts, 

including linked accounts. These generally are 

savings and checking accounts that are linked by 

an account number and enable the customer to 

keep the majority of his or her funds in the 

savings account and move money into the 

checking account, as needed.

The most typical features for youth-friendly 

accounts include no minimum or starting 

balance, zero or low monthly and minimum 

balance fees, no overdraft capability, no 

dormancy or inactivity fees, free and unrestricted 

access to customer service, free online/mobile 

banking and bill pay, ability to add cash or other 

direct deposit sources to the account or debit 

card without fees, and free and unrestricted use 

 14 12 U.S.C. 1752(1) 15 Vernon Loke, et al., see note 9. 16 Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco & MyPath, 

Boosting the Power of Youth Paychecks: Integrating 

Financial Capability into Youth Employment Programs, at 4 

(April 2016), available at http://mypathus.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/09/Boosting-the-Power-of-YouthPaychecks.pdf. 17 Bank On National Account Standards, available at 

http://www.joinbankon.org/wp-content/uploads/Bank-OnNational-Account-Standards-2015-2016-Final.pdf.

of in-network automated teller machines 

(ATMs).

Youth employment programs find it beneficial to 

work with financial institutions to 

simultaneously open accounts for many youth by 

allowing remote account opening (such as 

during registration for the program). Financial 

institutions may be able to work with partners to 

assist in opening accounts using student IDs, 

municipal IDs, program documentation or other 

reasonable means of identity verification 

consistent with the financial institution’s policies 

and procedures.18

Some youth workforce development

practitioners find that offering non-custodial 

accounts to young workers that do not require an 

adult custodian to cosign or guarantee the 

account is beneficial as it empowers youth to 

manage their own money and work towards their 

own savings goals.19

Regulatory agencies have released guidance to 

encourage financial institutions to develop youth 

savings programs. This guidance may be helpful 

in developing transaction products for working 

youth.20

 18http://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/documents/BSA_A

ML_Man_2014_v2.pdf. 19 Conference of State Bank Supervisors Statutory 

Requirements for Opening Bank Accounts for Minors by 

State, available at https://facts.csbs.org/. 20 Guidance to Encourage Financial Institutions’ Youth 

Savings Programs and Address Related Frequently Asked 

Questions, (February 24, 2015), available at 

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financialeducation/SiteAssets/Pages/commissionindex/Final%20Proposed%20Youth%20Savings%20Guidanc

e%2003022015%20Clean.pdf.

Example: In San Francisco, CA, a non-profit 

organization works with a local financial institution to 

provide two different youth savings accounts: a 

restricted savings account to encourage participants to 

meet a savings goal, and a regular savings account 

tied to an ATM card. New transaction accounts are 

also available. Both accounts have low fees, do not 

require parental signature, and cannot be overdrawn. 

The program supports setting personal financial goals 

and includes incentives to succeed. Since 2011, 

participants have saved over $850,000.
Financial Literacy and Education Commission, January 2017 - Page 6

What actions should a youth employment 

program take to get started building a 

partnership with a financial institution?

Employment programs usually begin the process 

of exploring involvement with financial 

institutions by learning in which markets the 

financial institutions operate. The youth 

employment program can view the financial 

institution’s web page or may contact the bank’s 

CRA officer for this information. Local 

government agencies that work on financial 

capability and Bank On Programs21 may also be 

able to provide introductions to financial

institutions that they have partnered with in the 

past. The regulatory agencies’ community affairs 

officers, who are located across the United 

States (see list below), are also good resources.

A workforce program should be prepared to 

discuss how it might complement or enhance the 

financial institution’s delivery of financial 

services to the communities that it serves, such 

as through programs that target low- and 

moderate-income youth that are responsive to 

the needs of the communities. Some of these 

institutions may already offer similar products 

for youth participating in workforce programs 

 21 See www.joinbankon.org.

and may be partnering with similar organizations 

in other areas.

Partnerships between youth employment 

programs and financial institutions can yield 

results if they are properly planned and 

coordinated. In successful partnerships, the 

parties often will outline the roles each 

organization will take, resources that will be 

provided, and common expectations on the 

outcomes and measures of success in helping to 

meet the financial needs of youth participating in 

employment programs.

Example: In Chicago, IL, several financial 

institutions have partnered with Bank On 

Chicago and One Summer Chicago to place 

nearly 25,000 youth, ages 14 to 24, in 

summer youth employment and learning 

opportunities, and to provide participating 

youth with accounts. These financial 

institutions offer products that have no 

monthly fees, minimum balances, and 

overdraft-capability. An adult co-signer is 

not required for any participating youth over 

age 16. Most allow youth to receive an ATM 

and debit card, and some allow accounts to 

be opened remotely. Many of the partnering 

financial institutions also have mobile apps, 

so young people can manage their accounts 

from a mobile phone.
Resources for Financial Institution and Youth Employment Program Partnerships

Regulatory Agency Community Affairs Contacts

• Federal Reserve Banks (FRB): https://www.federalreserveeducation.org

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/community

• National Credit Union Administration (NCUA): https://www.ncua.gov/consumers/Pages/financial-literacyresources.aspx

• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC): http://www.occ.gov/topics/community-affairs/index-communityaffairs.html

Federal Government

• Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s Building 

Financial Capability in Youth Programs, Insights from Roundtable: 

• http://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/building-financial-capability-in-youth-employmentprograms/

• CRA Regulation Resources: https://www.ffiec.gov/cra/

• DOL’s Youth Connections Community of Practice Website: https://youth.workforcegps.org/

• FDIC’s Model Safe Accounts Template: https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/template/template.pdf

• FDIC’s Money Smart: https://www.fdic.gov/moneysmart

• Federal Student Aid’s Preparing and Paying for College: www.studentaid.gov

• Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) background and financial education resources: 

http://www.mymoney.gov/Pages/for-youth.aspx

• Guidance to Encourage Financial Institutions’ Youth Savings Programs and Address Related Frequently Asked 

Questions: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/bcreg20150224a1.pdf

• NCUA’s MyCreditUnion.gov: http://www.mycreditunion.gov/Pages/default.aspx

• OCC’s Community Developments Insights - School-Based Bank Savings Programs: https://occ.gov/topics/communityaffairs/publications/insights/insights-school-based-bank-savings-programs.pdf

• President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans Final Report: 

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financialeducation/Documents/PACFCYA%20Final%20Report%20June%202015.pdf

• Securities and Exchange Commission’s Student Resources for Saving and Investing: 

https://investor.gov/outreach/students

• Social Security Administration Resources for Young People: https://www.ssa.gov/people/youngpeople/saving.html

• WIOA Resource Page: www.doleta.gov/wioa

Non-Government

Please note that these resources have not been supported or endorsed by the FLEC and may not be an 

exhaustive list of materials on this topic.

• America Saves for Young Workers: http://www.americasaves.org/organizations/current-initiatives/first-time-workers

• Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund Summer Jobs Connect: http://cfefund.org/info/our-projects#innovation-center

• Conference of State Bank Supervisors Statutory Requirements for Opening Bank Accounts for Minors by State: 

https://facts.csbs.org/

• Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Leveraging Financial Education:

http://bostonfed.org/commdev/conf/2015/leveraging-financial-education/index.htm

• MyPath: http://mypathus.org/ 

• National League of Cities Municipal Action Guide: 

http://www.nlc.org/Documents/Find%20City%20Solutions/IYEF/Family%20Economic%20Success/YEFC%20Mag%20Pub_finaldraft%20v2.pdf