CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST

– SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Evaluation s of Financial Capability Programs for Economically

- Vulnerable Consumers : Two Randomized Evaluations

(OMB CONTROL NUMBER: 3170

- XXXX)DRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

1 Table of C ontents

Terms of Clearance

................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 2

Abstract

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 2

A. Justification

................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 2

1. Circumstances Necessitating the Data Collection

................................ ................................ ... 2

2. Use of the Information

................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 3 3. Use of Information Technology

................................ ................................ ............................. 4 4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

................................ ................................ ................................ 4

5. Efforts to Minimize Burdens on Small Entities

................................ ................................ ....... 5 6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection and Obstacles to Burden Reduction

................... 5 7. Circumstances Requiring Special Information Collection

................................ ...................... 6

8. Consultation Outsi de the Agency

................................ ................................ ........................... 6 9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents

................................ ................................ .......................... 7 10. Assurances of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

................................ ..................... 8 11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

................................ ................................ .................... 8

12. Estimated Burden of Information Collection

................................ ................................ ....... 8 13. Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Recordkee pers

........................... 10

14. Estimated Cost to the Federal Government

................................ ................................ ........ 10 15. Program Changes or Adjustments

................................ ................................ ...................... 10 16. Plans for Tabulation, Statistical Analysis, and Publication

................................ ................ 10

Tabulation Plans

................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 10

Publication Plans

................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 10

Project Time Schedule

................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 11

17. Display of Expiration Date

................................ ................................ ................................ . 11 18. Exceptions to the Certification Requirement

................................ ................................ ...... 11DRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

2 

### Terms of Clearance

None.



### Abstract

The aim of this data collection effort is to understand the impact of bundled products and

services on the financial decision

- making of economically

- vulnerable consumers in the United

States. 1 The information will be collected from economically

- vulnerable consumers who consent to participate in these research studies. The target population for this survey collection is

low

- income, underserved consumers who are considered unbanked, un derbanked, or have thin or

no credit files and therefore have financial services needs that are not being met . We will collect information about the financial health of these consumers, such as the amount of money they hold in savings, their credit score, and the size of their debt to income ratio. We will also collect information about their financial capability . The purpose of this data collection effort is to understand whether bundled products and services that are designed to build savings and credi t for economically

- vulnerable consumers have an impact on assets building and financial capability.



### A. Justification

1. Circumstances Necessitating the Data Collection

The Dodd

- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd

- Frank A ct) established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to regulate consumer financial products or services under federal consumer financial laws. The statutory objectives for the CFPB include ensuring that “markets for consumer financial products and services operate transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innovation

. ” 2 T he Dodd

- Frank Act also

establishes that a function of the Bureau include s “providing information, guidance, and technical assistance regarding the offering and provision of consumer financial products or services to traditionally underserved consumers and communities. 3 ” The Office of Financial Empowerment within the CFPB is re sponsible for improving the financial capability of economically

- vulnerable consumers, including those who are low

- income and underserved. To that end, Office of Financial Empowerment seeks to foster a marketplace that meets the financial

needs of these co nsumers, through responsible product and service innovation and programs that build the financial capability of these consumers

.

The Office of Financial Empowerment at the CFPB is interested in understanding innovative

1 Economically vulnerable consumers include those who are low

- income, underserved, and have limited to no

access to credit.
2 12 U.S.C. § 5511(a)(5).

3 12 U.S.C. § 5493(b)(2)

.DRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

3 programs, such as bundled product s that combine two products together in order to accomplish a dual goal or provide easy access to a secondary product (e.g., short

- term loans that require savings) and integrated service delivery , which combines services together in order to achieve

better outcomes (e.g., offering financial counseling at a job training center) , that are aimed at

serv ing economically

- vulnerable consumers . Despite the growing use of these products and

services

, evidence from rigorous research studies that show whether or not these programs improve the fina ncial stability of economically vulnerable consumers is scarce

. Without adequate evidence of what works, it is difficult to understand the impact these products have on

consumers and how best to improve the effectiveness an d quality of such products and services

, and how best to improve consumer outcomes. Therefore

, the Office of Financial Empowerment is requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct randomized evaluations of two financial capabilit y programs aimed at economically

- vulnerable consumers to

test whether the programs improve savings

, credit , and the financial health of these consumers

. CFPB has contracted with the RAND Corporation, a non

- profit research institute, and the Institute for Poverty Action (IPA) , a non

- profit evaluation organization, to carry out the se evaluations.

The Office of Financial Empowerment wishes to engage in these evaluations to increase its understanding of whether programs that are intende d to build the financial capability of economically

- vulnerable consumers through integrated service delivery or bundled products have positive outcomes for those consumers.

2. Use of the Information

The Office of Financial Empowerment wishes to engage in these evaluations to increase its understanding of whether programs that are designed to build the financial capability of economically vulnerable consumers through integrated service delivery or bundled products have positive outcomes for those consumers . Positive outcomes for consumers include but are not

limited to : 1) the building of savings, 2) the building of credit, 3 ) a transition from products and services that are more costly and less secure, to those that are safer, more affordable, and provide mechanisms to build wealth and access to credit, and 4) improved financial capability as demonstrated by improved understanding of one’s balance sheet, and necessary decisions to build and protect one’s assets.

CFPB will sponsor the evaluation of existin g financial capability programs being offered by institutions participating in the study

. Six categories of data will be collected from consumers: 1) savings balance, 2) credit score, 3) savings or prepaid card account usage, 4) debt, 5) budgeting decisio ns
, and 6) financial capability. For programs that integrate financial counseling into existing services, we will also collect data on the outcomes that are targeted by the primary services (e.g.

, if counseling is integrated in utility bill services insti tutions we will collect information about whether consumers are paying their bills on time).

Data will be collected from consumers who are served by participating institutions. ThisDRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

4 includes credit union members of credit unions that offer bundled pro ducts, consumers who use payroll or prepaid cards, or consumers who are referred to receive financial counseling serv ices. Consumers will be asked for their explicit consent prior to participating in the study. For each consumer, data will be collected on the outcomes that are targeted by the intervention and on financial capability.

For consumers who consent to participate in the study, data will be collected in the form of administrative data from particip ating institutions, and surv ey questionnaires . Administrative data, such as savings account usage and balances

, credit scores , and prepaid card usage will be transferred from participating institutions using secure data transfer processes in cases when

pe rsonally

- identifiable information (PII) is included

. Survey data will be collected by research

staff members over t he telephone or in person. Administrative data will be collected in all cases where it is available, and survey data is intended to supplem ent administrative data collection.

Baseline data will be collected at the start of the evaluation, interim data may be collected on usage and balance in savings accounts on a monthly basis, and end

- line data will be collected at

the end of the evaluation timeline.

Data and information resulting from these evaluations will add to the body of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of bundl ed financial products and integrated financial services

, specifically for economically vulnerable consumers . This will also provide the Office of

F inancial Empowerment with better information on how best to improve the effectiveness and quality of financial capability programs for economically

- vulnerable consumers , and therefore improve consumer outcomes. For example, if the evaluation were to demonstrate that savings behavior can be enhanced through a combination of product features, financial ed ucators would understand the importance of incorporating product discussions into their work with clients.

3. Use of Information Technology

In all data collection efforts, we will rely on automated and electronic data transfer when it is

available. For example, if the program targets improving savings, we will collect account usage and balance data by electronically transferring this data from the participating organization /institution . This is intended to reduce the burden of data collection on consum ers. In some cases survey data will need to be collected in person , in order to collect data that cannot be captured by administrative data, and to improve accuracy and account for participants who may require clarification of survey questions and would f eel more comfortable with an in

- person approach

. Any surveys that will be administered to consumers over the telephone or in person

will be limited to an estimated 20 minute completion time.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

As a precursor to these evaluations, the Office of Financial Empowerment has sponsored an

e nvironmental scan of existing and ongoing evaluations of financial capability programs. The search identified 19 ongoing evaluations [see Table 1], which are a comb ination of private,DRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

5 public, and academic, from the expert interviews, online searches and requests for information

from funders. This effort was to help guide the decision on which programs are eligible for evaluation and to avoid duplicati ng effort s by n ot evaluating programs or types of programs that are already involved in rigorous existing evaluation s

. The search of ongoing evaluations revealed a need for more rigorous evaluations of products and services that build assets for economically

- vulnerable consumers. Even though there are some ongoing evaluations, overall, there is significant room for rigorous evaluations to inform policy making in the area , and our data collection will be different than existing and ongoing evaluations because of its speci fic

focus and scope.

5. Efforts to Minimize Burdens on Small Entities

The data collection will only have an impact on small entities to the ext ent that one of the participating institutions is a small business owner voluntarily participating in the fina ncial capability program. The participating institutions that offer these financial capability programs

tend to be small non

- profits or government agencies. The research team will provide the bulk of the resources necessary for the evaluation ( e.g.
, recruiting participants, collecting data , etc. ). The participating institutions may bear minor additional costs but will be voluntarily engaged in the evaluations for the purposes of learning /evaluating the effectiveness of the programs they are offering.

6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection and Obstacles to Burden Reduction

Absent this rigorous evaluation of financial capability programs, the Office of Financial Empowerment will lack the data necessary for understanding whether or not th e growing trend of bundling financial capability products or providing financial capability services through integrated service delivery, specifically for economically vulnerable consumers leads to improved outcomes

.

The evaluation also contributes to the statuto ry objectives for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau related to economically underserved consumers, including :

• Ensuring that “markets for consumer financial products and services operate transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innov ation” 12 U.S.C. § 551 1(b)(5);

• Establishment of a unit whose functions include “ r esearching, analyzing, and reporting on...experienc es of traditionally underserved consumers, including un

- banked and under

- banked

consumers.” 12 U.S.C. § 5493 (b)(1)(F) ;

• Est ablishment of a unit whose functions include “ p roviding information, guidance, and technical assistance regar ding the offering and provision of consumer financial products or

services to traditio nally underserved consumers and communities.” 12 U.S.C. § 5493( b)(2)

.DRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

6 7. Circumstances Requiring Special Information Collection

This request is consistent with the general information collection guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2). No special circumstances apply.

8. Consultation Outside the Agency

The RAND/IPA project team and advisors were consulted on this project. A list of these persons is provided below (full contact details for these individuals can be found in Section B.5 of this document):

Outside research, academic, and practitioner experts were consu lted at various stages of the initial phase of the project in order to inform the selection of topics and sites to be evaluated.

This includes:

1) R esearch panel members who participated in a webinar and provided ongoing support throughout the project came f rom the following institutions and organizations :

a. George Washington University

b. University of Maryland

c. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School

d. Ohio State U niversity

e. CredAbility

f. RiteCheck

g. Harvard University

h. Community Financial Resources

i. University of Pe nnsylvania, Wh arton School j. Neighborhood Trust

k. University of Chicago

l. N ational University of Singapore

2) I ndividuals who shared their knowledge of relevant products and services for inclusion in

the environmental scan came from the following institutions and organizations:

a. Universit y of Wisconsin

b. National Fou ndation for Credit Counseling

c. Family Foundations

d. Rural Dynamics

e. Mission Asset Fund

f. Credit Builders Alliance

g. The Financial Clin ic

h. Corporati on for Enterprise Development

i. Financial Indust ry Regulatory Authority, Inc. j. S elf

- Help Federal Credit Union

k. D2D Fund

l. Filene Research InstituteDRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

7 m. New America Foundation

n. Consum er Credit Counseling Services

o. National Endo wment for Financial E ducation

p. USDA, National Institute of Fo od and Agriculture, Division of Family and

Consumer Sciences

q. Opportunity to Assets

r. Nationa l Credit Union Administration

s. US Department of Treasury Community Development Financia l Institution Fund

t. US Department of Treasury Office of Financial Education

u. US De partment of Health & Human Services Office of the Administration for

Children and Families

v. Nationa l Credit Union Administration

w. HelloWallet

x. Emerge Workplace Solutions

3) I ndividuals who shared their knowledge about barriers to savings and recommended programs for evaluation came from the following institutions and organizations :

a. Saint Louis University

b. CredAbility

c. RiteCheck

d. Center for Financial Services Innovation

e. University of Washi n gton
f. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

g. The Urban Institute

h. Door ways to Dreams Fund

i. Northwestern University j. Neighborhood Trust Financial Partn ers k. Dartmouth College

The notice required in 5 CFR 1320.8(d) was published in the Federal Register on XXX , page XXX. The required notice of OMB review will be published in the Federal Register concurrently with the submission of this requ e st to OMB

.

[LIST HERE ]XXXX

XXXX comments were received by OMB during the 60

- day notice period: from XXXXX . Our

resp onses to public comments as well as other changes are summarized as below.

[LIST HERE ]XXXX

9. Payment s or Gift s to Respondents

Depending upon the treatments , or the questions being evaluated, that are ultimately selected,DRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

8 there could be non

- monetary i ncentives in the form of a gift card to a restaurant or a raffle for an electronic gift to encourage participation. Other evaluation treatments do not involve incentives

. These determinations will be made after the 60

- day comment period.

10. Assurance s o f Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

The standard c onfidentiality provisions of the programs of the sponsoring institutions will apply

. Respondents will be given the opportunity to provide informed consent either in written form or verbally over the phone. Data will be treated in a confidential manner, unless otherwise compelled by law. Personal identification information (i.e., respondent names) will not be made

available to the CFPB and the study’s brief s and report s will not i dentify any specific individual

level information

. Researchers will take appropriate steps to secure a ll potentially identifying

information so that there can be no breach of confidentiality by following RAND’s guidelines for

treat ing sensitive information. RAND’s guidelines identify six levels of sensitivity with corresponding levels of security for storing, transferring and disposing of sensitive information. Secured storage of information includes limiting access to a set number of researchers and keeping the data in a locked environment. Secure file transmissions will be done using the Accellion sftp server, a secure file transfer FIPS 140

- 2 certified appliances residing in the

contractor’s facilities . The Accellion provides acc ount maintenance, verification of transfer integrity and notifications of transfer events to ensure a reliable exchange of sensitive data. Data

sent to the contractor is encrypted during transmission and encrypted at rest while on the

Accellion. Each sit e is assigned a single login ID and password that provides access to a secure Accellion workspace where they place data. Each site’s workspace is accessible only by that site and by the CFPB project team and their contractor

. Examples of proper disposal o f sensitive data

include the use of s ecure file deletion software that delete s the file s and overwrite s al l empty space on the disk a mini mum of 3 times.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

In many instances t he researchers will access data that is already collected as part of existing private and non

- profit sector financi al capability program s . In instances where necessary data is not already being collected by the institution supporting the program or servic e , researchers will need to supplement this data with surveys of participants. The surveys may ask questions related to personal financial behavior, such as amount of savings, amount of debt, spending behavior and other personal financial information. Re searchers will need this information to assess financial outcomes and financial behavior relating to participation in the financial capability

program. Because individuals will be randomly assigned to the treatment or control group, we

need to collect the sensitive information at the individual level, and aggregate data is not

sufficient.

12. Estimate d Burden of Information Collection

In Exhibit s 1 and 2, we provide estimates of the collection burden on study participants. SinceDRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

9 these evaluations will in volve engaging those who are voluntarily participating in an existing private or non

- profit program , we only included those elements that are an additional burden due to the evaluation. If there is no additional burden to the participants, just passive dat a collection from the institution sponsoring the program, there are no time or cost burdens to calculate.

E XHIBIT 1. E STIMATE OF A NNUALIZED T IME B URDEN TO R ESPONDENTS

Number of Participants Number of Responses Per Respondent Total Responses Average Burden per Response (in hours) Total

Burden

Hours

Evaluation 1

Consent/Credit Pull 1200 1 1200 .08 96

Baseline Survey 1200 1 1200 .16 192 Endline Survey 1200 1 1200 .16 192

Evaluation 2

Consent/Credit Pull 1500 1 1500 .08 120

Baseline Survey 1500 1 1500 .25 375 Endline Survey 1500 1 1500 .25 375

Total 1350

E XHIBIT 2. E STIMATE OF A NNUALIZED C OST B URDEN TO R ESPONDENTS

Number of Participants Total burden

hours Average hourly

wage rate (1) Total cost

burden

Evaluation 1

Consent 1200 96 $13.76 $1321

Baseline Survey 1200 192 $13.76 $2834 Endline Survey 1200 192 $2834

Evaluation 2

Consent 1500 120 $13.76 $1651

Baseline Survey 1500 375 $13.76 $5160 Endline Survey 1500 375 $13.76 $5160

Total $ 18960

(1) Average hourly wage was derived from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (OES)

survey , using the 37 th percentile ( Average hourly rates available at http://www.bls. gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm )DRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

10 13. Estimate d Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Recordkeepers

Data collection for this study will not result in any additional capital, start

- up, maintenance, or purchase costs to participants

.

14. Estimated Cost to the Federal Government

CFPB is supporting the conduct of th ese evaluations as part of the contract with the assistance of two contracting institutions . The estimated cost for this work including design, fieldwork, and analysis will be $ TBD

.

15. Program Changes or Adjustments

This is a new data collection

.

16. Plans for Tabulation , Statistical Analysis, and Publication

Tabulation Plans

Starting Date Ending Date

Baseline Survey TBD TBD

Baseline Analysis TBD TBD Midline Surveys TBD TBD Midline Analysis TBD TBD Endline Survey TBD TBD Final Analysis TBD TBD

Publication Plans

Draft Date Final Date

Baseline Analysis Report TBD TBD

Midline Analysis Report TBD TBD

RAND Report TBD TBD

Journal Article TBD TBDDRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

11 Project Time Schedule

The timeline for the project, including the data collection detailed in this request for OMB approval is shown below. The timeline calls for data collection to begin in Fall 2013 and end by....Draft and final reports will be due in ...

.

Task/Activity Deliverab le Due Date

OMB Clearance Submit OMB Package TBD

Data Collection for Baseline Survey Interim Project Report TBD

Baseline Data Analysis TBD

Data Collection for Midline Survey Interim Project Report TBD

Midline Data Analysis TBD

Data Collection for Endline

Data TBD

Overall Data Analysis Report on data analysis TBD

Final Report Draft Report Final Report TBD

Academic Journal Article TBD

17. Display of Expiration Date

The Bureau plans to display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information

collection on all instruments.

18. Exceptions to the Certification Requirement

There are no exceptions to the certification.
Table 1

– Ongoing Evaluations by Program Type, Organization and Evaluation Design
Program Evaluating Organization Program Evaluating Organization Program Description Evaluation Description

Asset Building

‐ Individual and Child Development

Accounts Center for Social Development at Washington
University IDAs are matched savings accounts for specific purposes and CDAs are savings or investment accounts that being as early as birth designed to allow parents and children
to accumulate savings for post‐secondary education, homeownership, or business initiatives. The program is testing a number of hypotheses re

information and facilitation.

Large‐scale demonstrations of asset‐building polic
American Dream Demonstration, the SEED Nation
Oklahoma Kids, and YouthSave.

Financial Advisory CredAbility CredAbility is looking at a new example of financial Does targeted financial counseling increase assetsDRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

12 Services counseling that is aimed at people who are stable but
living on a cash flow basis and not accumulating asset s. This program is designed to help these individuals move from cash flow to asset building. but living on a cash flow basis?

Save Your Refund D2D saveyourrefund.org is a national sweepstakes where individuals are eligible to win weekly prizes and a grand
prize if they save in the form of a bond or savings

account at tax time What is the take‐up rate & savings generated from (R2A) program? Is R2A targ eting the right populat
saving? How can R2A increase its effectiveness in

D2D is researching tax‐refund splitting through su
behavior, financial preferences, and financial cond randomly assigned into treatment and control gro Emergency Gift
Cards D2D This is a pilot program in which D2D partners with the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union to offer a gift card that is marketed and packaged to communicate that
its purpose is "for an emergency." The card incorporates D2D's research that: a) consumers like to gift tangible savings to their loved ones b) savings behaviors can be influenced by meeting consumers where they are and
tapping into ex isting behaviors, and c) consumers are
willing to pay for commoditized savings. Can savings be commoditized in such a way to hel day?

D2D is exploring two different branding messages

can be "unlock ed" when an emergency hits and a
consumers can "protect" loved ones from a rainy understanding consumer usage of the funds and t manage any self‐control issues. D2D will explore f
barriers to usage, such as requiring consumers to activation code, call a 1‐800 phone number before allow the giver to unlock the funds for the receive

Clarif i Innovations for
Poverty Action In Clarifi's debt management/debt reduction program,

Clarifi works with creditors on debtor's behalf to lower
payments and reduce or eliminate late fees. Clarifi sets up a monthly payment plan where debtor makes a single
monthly payment to Clarifi, and Clarifi disburses that payment appropriately to creditors. In this intervention,

DMP has behavioral economic modifications added ‐ peer support and/or regular reminders. Does the program increase the financial capability individuals and families struggling with debt?

Randomized control trial in which a sample of clie Management Plan (DMP) to repay debts through C and/or regular reminders to stick to budgets and

DMPs.

BoLT (Borrow Less Tomorrow) Innovations for
Poverty Action Community Action Project (Tulsa, Oklahoma) free tax‐
preparation service + BoLT intervention Does BoLT, a behavioral approach to debt reductio

decis ion aid, social commitment, and reminders fo repayment plans at tax‐time, ultimately reduce cr controlled trial ‐ random assignment of tax‐prepar
soft credit report pulls to receive B oLT offer or no identifying those with a potentially suitable debt.
if Bolt reduces credit card debt, auto balances or b scores, delinquency, line of credit utilization, or nu
month horizon.

Commitment
Contracts + financial

education Innovations for
Poverty Action Financial Education + commitment contracts at Neighborhood Trust (NYC) and District Government
Employees' Federal Credit Union (DC): The Super Saver CD (SSCD) is a balance building CD whereby the client makes an initial commitment to save a goal amount (up to $10,000) within a customizable maturity term (up to
18 months), by making weekly or monthly deposits
towards that goal. Cli ents can start with a low initial deposit of $15. As with a traditional CD, once funds are
deposited into the SSCD they cannot be withdrawn by
the owner without closing the CD and forfeiting accumulated interest and the initial $15 deposit. Does a combinat ion of financial education and com promoting higher levels of saving, reduced relianc
and healthier financial portfolios among low‐incom States (as it has been shown to do in the developi

Randomized controlled trial ‐ random assignment Super Saver CD offer, one on‐ one financial counse (comparison group), to evaluate the effectiveness

financial education to encourage sound financial b

Cestas Populares Mission Asset

Fund Peer loan coupled with product‐specific peer led

education Does the loan help immigrants build credit and ma

The 2 year evaluation documents the f inancial, pe
of participants. The evaluation, which is not a rand being conducted by the Cesar E. Chavez Institute. Field Experiment on the Impacts of Financial Planning
Interventions for

Recent Homebuyers The Ohio State University and

UW‐Madison Financial planning strategies for low‐ and moderate‐ income families and individuals during a critical financial event purchasing their first home What type of financial planning intervention ‐ onli interactive financial education modules, and telep

‐ is most effective?

Evaluated through a randomized field experiment
homebuyers will be randomly assigned to differenDRAFT VERSION FOR 60 DAY NOTICE, WILL FINALIZE FOR 30 DAY NOTICE

13 planning interventions that are to be completed d
purchase. Ongoing follow‐up with homebuyers an completed in subsequent years. MAGIC Mojo UNC Center for
Community Capital MAGIC Mojo links a savings account to a MAGIC prepaid
card and allows cardholders to make deposits through
text messaging. Is "impulse savings" ‐ transferring money from a t
account via text message ‐ an effective way for un
savings?

By examining MAGIC Mojo data, Center researche impulse savings, how long they use it and how mu Money $mart in Head Start (MSiHS) University of

Wisconsin‐
Extension, the

Center for Financial Security The MSiHS program offers a mixture of three financial literacy interventions

— monthly
newsletters, financial education workshops, and financial coaching

— to parents with children enrolled in Head Start or Early Head

Start. Is money smart effective in building financial capa

Families are invited to participate in the program through Head Start staff or through UW‐Extension events. Households are asked to complete a surve
behaviors, knowledge, confidence, and interest in coaching. Follow‐up surveys are mailed in the spri
Financial Coaching Urban Institute Financial coaching Randomized Control trial examining effectiveness

programs. Assets for Independence Urban Institute Urban Institute is conducting an RCT evaluation of HHS's Assets for Independence, the federally funded program
that supports IDAs. Does the Assets for Independence program impro

most effective?

Randomized control trial examining how design fe

Field Studies of Financial Coaching's Capacity to Facilitate Behavior Change UW‐Madison

Center for
Financial Security Financial coaching How does coaching encourages behavior change a

The evaluation uses data gathered from multiple f across the country to see how the different progra

and fa cilitates goal attainment. Prepaid Debit Card

Take

‐ Up and Use Among Lower

‐ Income Households UW‐Madison

Center for
Financial Security,

Center for

Economic
Progress In partnership with the Center for Economic Progress in Chicago, the Center for Financial Security is exploring the
take‐up and use of prepaid debit cards among Volunteer

Income Tax Assistance clients. Does peer behavior boosts take‐up and use of pre

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance clients?

Randomized Controlled Trial: Th e study will be ran marketing that emphasizes peer behavior, all else

Impact of Financial Counseling on Financial Stability UW‐Madison

Center for Financial Security, New York City
Department of

Consumer Affairs

Office of Financial

Empowerment Financial Counseling and Financial education
workshops The evaluators are examining whether one‐on‐on
added value for individuals seeking financial advic

education workshops.

This evaluation uses credit report and survey data picture of counseling’s impacts on financial knowl
This allows direct comparisons between individua

financial co unseling and those who attend financi Assessing Financial Capability Outcomes: Money FI

‐ T (Financial

Instruction for Teachers) UW‐Madison

Center for Financial Security;

CFED 4th and 5th grade students receive personal finance instruction. Some students have savings account access through an in‐school credit union branch. Do students learn more from finance instruction w account access through the in‐school credit union

not?

Teache rs receive training to provide personal fina the areas of saving, personal money management
and banking services. Pilot project Program Description Research Question Evaluation Description