CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST – SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Evaluations of Financial Capability Programs for Economically-Vulnerable Consumers: 

Two Randomized Evaluations

(OMB CONTROL NUMBER: 3170-XXXX)
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Table of Contents

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 Outside 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 Recordkeepers........................... 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...................................................................... 11
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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, underbanked, 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 credit 

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 Act) 

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 The Dodd-Frank Act also 

establishes that a function of the Bureau includes “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 responsible 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 consumers, 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).
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programs, such as bundled products 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 

serving 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 financial 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 and 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 capability 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 these

evaluations.

The Office of Financial Empowerment wishes to engage in these evaluations to increase its 

understanding of whether programs that are intended 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 existing 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 decisions, 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 institutions 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. This 
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includes credit union members of credit unions that offer bundled products, consumers who use 

payroll or prepaid cards, or consumers who are referred to receive financial counseling services. 

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 participating institutions, and survey 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 

personally-identifiable information (PII) is included. Survey data will be collected by research 

staff members over the telephone or in person. Administrative data will be collected in all cases 

where it is available, and survey data is intended to supplement 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 bundled financial products and integrated financial services, 

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

Financial 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 educators 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 consumers. 

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 feel 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 

environmental scan of existing and ongoing evaluations of financial capability programs. The 

search identified 19 ongoing evaluations [see Table 1], which are a combination of private, 
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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 duplicating efforts by not evaluating programs or types of programs that 

are already involved in rigorous existing evaluations. 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 specific 

focus and scope.

5. Efforts to Minimize Burdens on Small Entities

The data collection will only have an impact on small entities to the extent that one of the 

participating institutions is a small business owner voluntarily participating in the financial 

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 the 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 statutory 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 innovation” 12 U.S.C. § 5511(b)(5);

• Establishment of a unit whose functions include “researching, analyzing, and reporting 

on...experiences of traditionally underserved consumers, including un-banked and under-banked 

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

• Establishment of a unit whose functions include “providing information, guidance, and 

technical assistance regarding the offering and provision of consumer financial products or 

services to traditionally underserved consumers and communities.” 12 U.S.C. § 5493(b)(2).
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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 consulted 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) Research panel members who participated in a webinar and provided ongoing support 

throughout the project came from the following institutions and organizations: 

a. George Washington University

b. University of Maryland

c. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School

d. Ohio State University

e. CredAbility

f. RiteCheck

g. Harvard University

h. Community Financial Resources

i. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School

j. Neighborhood Trust

k. University of Chicago

l. National University of Singapore

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

the environmental scan came from the following institutions and organizations: 

a. University of Wisconsin

b. National Foundation for Credit Counseling

c. Family Foundations

d. Rural Dynamics

e. Mission Asset Fund

f. Credit Builders Alliance

g. The Financial Clinic

h. Corporation for Enterprise Development

i. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.

j. Self-Help Federal Credit Union

k. D2D Fund

l. Filene Research Institute
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m. New America Foundation

n. Consumer Credit Counseling Services

o. National Endowment for Financial Education

p. USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Division of Family and 

Consumer Sciences

q. Opportunity to Assets

r. National Credit Union Administration

s. US Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institution Fund

t. US Department of Treasury Office of Financial Education

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

Children and Families

v. National Credit Union Administration

w. HelloWallet

x. Emerge Workplace Solutions

3) Individuals 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 Washington

f. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

g. The Urban Institute

h. Doorways to Dreams Fund

i. Northwestern University

j. Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners

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 request to OMB. 

[LIST HERE]XXXX

XXXX comments were received by OMB during the 60-day notice period: from XXXXX . Our 

responses to public comments as well as other changes are summarized as below. 

[LIST HERE]XXXX

9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents

Depending upon the treatments, or the questions being evaluated, that are ultimately selected, 
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there could be non-monetary incentives 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. Assurances of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

The standard confidentiality 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 briefs and reports will not identify any specific individual 

level information. Researchers will take appropriate steps to secure all potentially identifying 

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

treating 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 account 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 site 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 of sensitive data 

include the use of secure file deletion software that deletes the files and overwrites all empty 

space on the disk a minimum of 3 times.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

In many instances the researchers will access data that is already collected as part of existing 

private and non-profit sector financial capability programs. In instances where necessary data is 

not already being collected by the institution supporting the program or service, 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. Researchers 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. Estimated Burden of Information Collection

In Exhibits 1 and 2, we provide estimates of the collection burden on study participants. Since 
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these evaluations will involve 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 data collection 

from the institution sponsoring the program, there are no time or cost burdens to calculate. 

EXHIBIT 1. ESTIMATE OF ANNUALIZED TIME BURDEN TO RESPONDENTS 

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

EXHIBIT 2. ESTIMATE OF ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN TO RESPONDENTS 

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 37th percentile (Average hourly rates available at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm)
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13. Estimated 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 these 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 TBD
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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 Deliverable 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 assets 
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Services counseling that is aimed at people who are stable but 

living on a cash flow basis and not accumulating assets. 

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 targeting 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 existing 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 "unlocked" 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

Clarifi 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 

decision 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 BoLT 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. Clients 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 combination 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 financial, 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 differen 
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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 facilitates 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: The 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 counseling 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?

Teachers receive training to provide personal fina 

the areas of saving, personal money management 

and banking services. Pilot project

Program Description Research Question Evaluation Description