In Financial Capability and Asset Holding in Later Life: A Life Course Perspective the concept of Financial Capability is used to underscore the importance of acquiring knowledge and skills while addressing policies and services than can build financial security.
Global economic recovery in the aftermath of the Great Recession has not been experienced equally: while the share of wealth owned by the richest 3% has grown, the share owned by the poorest 90% continues to decline, as reported by Oxfam in 2016. This wealth divide disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority communities. This book underscores the importance of financial capability and asset building (FCAB) practice, policy and research during a period when vulnerable populations face increasingly difficult economic and financial realities. At the same time, retrenchment and privatization of government-sponsored social services have eroded the safety net available for families experiencing poverty or near-poverty conditions. The proliferation of products and services available from both formal and informal financial institutions highlights the need to promote FCAB to avoid and/or recover from financial difficulties, crises and poverty. The contributors to this volume disseminate findings from interventions designed to increase financial knowledge, financial management and financial access across several vulnerable populations, including immigrant communities. Further, they demonstrate the need for culturally sensitive FCAB service delivery, considering opportunities and barriers posed by past and current life situations, experiences and environments experienced by different populations. The book is aimed at policymakers, researchers and practitioners who assist financially vulnerable people. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Community Practice.
Financial struggles of American families are headline news. In communities across the nation, families feel the pinch of stagnant and sometimes declining incomes. Many have not recovered from the Great Recession, when millions lost their homes and retirement savings. They are bombarded daily with vexing financial decisions: Which bills to pay? Where to cash checks? How to cover an emergency? How to improve a credit report? How to bank online? How to save for the future? Low- and moderate-income families have few places to turn for guidance on financial matters. Not many can afford to pay a financial advisor to help navigate an increasingly complex financial world. They do their best with advice from family and trusted individuals. Social workers, financial counselors, and human services professionals can help. As “first responders,” they assist families and help in finding financial support from public and private sources. But these professionals are too often unprepared to address the full range of financial troubles of ordinary working families. Financial Capability and Asset Building in Vulnerable Households prepares social workers, financial counselors, and other human service professionals for financial practice with vulnerable families. Building on more than 20 years of research, the book sets the stage with key concepts, historical antecedents, and current financial challenges of families in America. It provides knowledge and tools to assist families in pressing financial circumstances, and offers a lifespan perspective of financial capability and environmental influences on financial behaviors and actions. Furthermore, the text details practice principles and skills for direct interventions, as well as for designing financial services and policy innovations. It is an essential resource for preparing the next generation of practitioners who can enable families to achieve economic security and development.
Grand Challenges for Social Work and Society is an edited book that captures the culmination of the work done on the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative (GCSWI) spearheaded by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW). The GCSWI is a decade-long undertaking intended to address some of the world's most difficult and complex social problems, and this book presents the foundations of this endeavor as it will unfold.
This second edition of the authoritative resource summarizes the state of consumer finance research across disciplines for expert findings on—and strategies for enhancing—consumers’ economic health. New and revised chapters offer current research insights into familiar concepts (retirement saving, bankruptcy, marriage and finance) as well as the latest findings in emerging areas, including healthcare costs, online shopping, financial therapy, and the neuroscience behind buyer behavior. The expanded coverage also reviews economic challenges of diverse populations such as ethnic groups, youth, older adults, and entrepreneurs, reflecting the ubiquity of monetary issues and concerns. Underlying all chapters is the increasing importance of financial literacy training and other large-scale interventions in an era of economic transition. Among the topics covered: Consumer financial capability and well-being. Advancing financial literacy education using a framework for evaluation. Financial coaching: defining an emerging field. Consumer finance of low-income families. Financial parenting: promoting financial self-reliance of young consumers. Financial sustainability and personal finance education. Accessibly written for researchers and practitioners, this Second Edition of the Handbook of Consumer Finance Research will interest professionals involved in improving consumers’ fiscal competence. It also makes a worthwhile text for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in economics, family and consumer studies, and related fields.
The growing number of older adults in the United States poses a significant challenge to families, healthcare systems, mental health services, and many other caregiving groups. Using the Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative as a framework, this text evaluates critical policies and issues pertaining to older adults, identifying both the overall systemic inequalities currently working against older adults as well as specific areas that require updated policies and interventions. It calls for active attention to the implementation of science-based research, policy, and practices to promote health and well-being. Among the topics addressed: Family violence against older adults Disaster planning and preparedness Building financial capability for aging families Health needs of incarcerated older adults Closing the gap in healthcare services for older adults Social isolation and its effects on mental health and well-being A useful gerontology resource for students, social work scholars, and practitioners, Gerontological Social Work and the Grand Challenges advocates for justice and equal opportunity for older adults, and highlights important social issues that must be urgently addressed in the near future.
Financial struggles of American families are headline news. In communities across the nation, families feel the pinch of stagnant and sometimes declining incomes. Many have not recovered from the Great Recession, when millions lost their homes and retirement savings. They are bombarded daily with vexing financial decisions: Which bills to pay? Where to cash checks? How to cover an emergency? How to improve a credit report? How to bank online? How to save for the future? Low- and moderate-income families have few places to turn for guidance on financial matters. Not many can afford to pay a financial advisor to help navigate an increasingly complex financial world. They do their best with advice from family and trusted individuals. Social workers, financial counselors, and human services professionals can help. As "first responders," they assist families and help in finding financial support from public and private sources. But these professionals are too often unprepared to address the full range of financial troubles of ordinary working families. Financial Capability and Asset Building in Vulnerable Households prepares social workers, financial counselors, and other human service professionals for financial practice with vulnerable families. Building on more than 20 years of research, the book sets the stage with key concepts, historical antecedents, and current financial challenges of families in America. It provides knowledge and tools to assist families in pressing financial circumstances, and offers a lifespan perspective of financial capability and environmental influences on financial behaviors and actions. Furthermore, the text details practice principles and skills for direct interventions, as well as for designing financial services and policy innovations. It is an essential resource for preparing the next generation of practitioners who can enable families to achieve economic security and development.
This innovative text is the first to examine the contemporary psychological experience of African Americans through the lens of a positive, strengths-based model. It combats the deficit perspective that has permeated the psychological literature about African Americans by focusing on the strengths that have facilitated their growth and resilience—while also considering existing challenges and struggles. The author examines in depth the major areas of psychological research across family, peer, and romantic relationships, education, work, ethnic-racial socialization and identity, prosocial behavior and civic engagement, and the mental and physical health of African Americans today. With a focus on real life applications, the text includes pedagogical elements introducing topics in Current Events, Interventions in Practice, Individual Issues, African Cultural Values, and Media and Technology. Additional features include learning objectives in each chapter, discussion questions, a closing summary, an extensive trove of additional resources, and PowerPoints and a sample syllabus for instructors. Print version of book includes free, searchable, digital access to the entire contents. Key Features: Serves as the first text to examine African American psychology from a strengths-based perspective Grounded in a lifespan perspective Focuses on ethnic-racial socialization and ethnic-racial identity Addresses mental and physical health Demonstrates how communities have used strength-based techniques to achieve positive outcomes Integrate values common to Western Africa Includes learning objectives, discussion questions, closing summary, and boldfaced key terms Provides PowerPoints and a sample syllabus
"Will 69 million baby boomers suddenly drop out of the workforce when they turn 65? It is difficult to imagine this generation, with its talent, education, and experience, idling away the last thirty years of life."—From the Foreword, by Robert N. Butler, M.D., The Mount Sinai Medical Center Old age has been historically thought of as a period of frailty and dependence, yet studies show that with the help of advances in health and medicine, current populations will live longer and remain healthier than previous generations. As average life expectancies rise, traditional concepts of retirement need to be reconsidered on all levels—from government policy to business practice to individual life planning. In this volume, leaders in the field of gerontology explore these changing conditions through the concept of "productive aging," which has been developed by leaders in the field to promote older adults' contributions to society in social and economic capacities. Productive Aging: Concepts and Challenges treats the implications of productive aging for the discipline of gerontology and for society in general. The first section defines the principles, historical perspectives, and conceptual frameworks for productive aging. The second section takes a disciplinary approach, treating the biomedical, psychological, sociological, and economic implications of a more capable older generation. The third section considers advances in theories of gerontology, and the fourth section suggests future directions in practice, theory, and research. Contributors: W. Andrew Achenbaum, University of Houston • Scott A. Bass, University of Maryland-Baltimore • Vern L. Bengtson, University of Southern California • James E. Birren, UCLA • Francis G. Caro, University of Massachusetts Boston • Carroll L. Estes, University of California-San Francisco • Marc Freedman, Civic Ventures (co-founder of Experience Corps) • James Hinterlong, Washington University • James S. Jackson, University of Michigan • Jane L. Mahakian, Pacific Senior Services • Harry R. Moody, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation • Nancy Morrow-Howell, Washington University • Philip Rozario, Washington University • James H. Schulz, Brandeis University • Michael Sherraden, Washington University • Alvar Svanborg, University of Illinois-Chicago and Goteburg University, Sweden • Brent A. Taylor, San Diego State University