Financial Credit Outcomes of IDA Participation: Longitudinal Findings

The Eleventh Report to Congress provides an update on the status of the Assets for Independence (AFI) program through the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. This section presents the overall organization of the Report, as well as briefly describes the methodology upon which the underlying analysis is based. Organization of this Report This Report includes eight sections and an appendix, organized within the following framework: ► Section 1: Program Overview. This section provides an overview of the AFI program, including the status of the ongoing program evaluation, as well as detailed information about the AFI program’s core elements. ► Section 2: AFI Grantees and the Projects Administered. This portion of the report presents information on the variety of organizations that are receiving AFI grants and administering Individual Development Account (IDA) projects. It highlights two major types of AFI-funded IDA projects—Single Agency Projects and Network Projects—and provides information on sources of non-Federal funding used. It also includes details on staffing arrangements and the various types of training and supportive services that grantees provide to the participants. ► Section 3: Characteristics of IDAs Provided by AFI Projects. This section presents descriptive information on allowable uses of IDA savings and matching funds, match rates, match levels, and savings rules, which grantees are permitted to define individually within Federal requirements. ► Section 4: Characteristics of IDA Account Holders. This section summarizes demographic information on participants who have opened IDAs. ► Section 5: Program Outcomes and Outputs. This section provides aggregate information on the program’s critical outcomes, such as the number of participants served, the number of IDAs opened, the total and average amounts of earned income deposited into IDAs, the numbers of assets purchased, and the amounts of IDA savings and match used for asset purchases. Additionally, this section presents participants’ intended uses of savings, at the time of enrollment. The section also presents estimates of the number of participants who have completed financial education and asset-specific training. ► Section 6: Program Inputs. This component of the report highlights the essential inputs and fiscal aspects of each regular AFI project. It discusses the trends in uses of AFI grant funds, and presents details about the grantees’ Project Reserve Funds (required bank account[s] in which the grantee maintains grant funds and non-Federal funds for the project). ► Section 7: Special State AFI Projects in Indiana and Pennsylvania. This section describes the two special AFI projects in the States of Indiana and Pennsylvania, their distinctive features, and outcomes to date. ASSETS FOR INDEPENDENCE PROGRAM: Status at the Conclusion of the Eleventh Year 2 ► Section 8: Additional HHS Support for Grantees and Knowledge Development about the Program. This final section describes the ASSET Initiative, the AFI Resource Center’s menu of training and technical assistance services, the AFI Project Management Tool, the AFI performance management framework, and ongoing research about the program. ► The Appendix. This is a table listing key elements about each AFI grant awarded since the program was established in 1998. The table presents details including grantee organization name, State, grant period, and grant amount. It also displays project highlights and outputs achieved: the number of IDAs opened; cumulative amounts of savings deposited into the IDA; and the number of participants who have purchased an asset with their IDA savings and match funds.