August 16, 1999
The focus of the visits on Thursday, Friday and Saturday is the two-year-old Family Asset Building program, which is based at the Heart of America Family Services Family Focus Center, 1829 Madison, Kansas City, Mo. The program is one of 13 demonstration projects across the nation.
KU's top-ranked School of Social Welfare helped establish the program and its faculty does ongoing evaluation of the program. KU graduate students also help with day-to-day programming.
The program encourages Kansas City area low-income families to save money for long-term investments, such as college, purchasing a home, retirement and creating their own jobs in their own businesses. The program provides low-income families an incentive to save by offering a two-to-one match for every dollar deposited in a dedicated savings account, with a cap of $30 a month. Over the program's four-year life, a family could save $4,500 plus interest.
"Leaving poverty doesn't just have to do with spending, it has to do with saving and investment as well. If we can put some institutional structures in place to help people at all income levels build assets, we might see some positive outcomes down the road," said Deborah Page-Adams, assistant professor of social welfare, who oversees KU's participation in the program. "(Participants) are going to great lengths and sacrifices each month to make the savings happen."
Presently 75 families are enrolled in the program and attend monthly meetings to learn about economics and how to build long-term assets. Some have already used their savings for needed home repairs or to pay for college, Page-Adams said.
Participants' income must be 150 percent or less of the federal poverty standard, such as a family of four earning less than $24,000 a year.
The delegation, which includes two Taipei city officials and a university researcher, will visit the Family Focus Center from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, to meet with some of the program's participants.
On Friday, Aug. 20, the delegation will travel to KU to meet with faculty and graduate students who are researching the program's effect. School of Social Welfare Dean Ann Weick will welcome the delegation when they meet from 2 to 4 p.m. in 208 Twente Hall.
The group will return to the Family Focus Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, to meet more participants. They will enjoy a meal prepared by program participants who have started a catering business.
Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858 or tcohen@ukans.edu.