Saving
for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED) is a policy,
practice, and research initiative designed to test the efficacy of and
inform policy for a national system of asset-building accounts for children
and youth. SEED is led by six national partners: CFED, CSD, the University
of Kansas School of Social Welfare, the New America Foundation, the
Initiative on Financial Security of the Aspen Institute, and RTI International.
The
Initiative is an integrated, multifaceted effort consisting of 12 SEED
programs implemented by community organizations testing distinctive
programs with various age and target groups, financial education, and
supportive services; a pre-school demonstration and impact assessment
of 500 accounts and controls from Head Start programs in Michigan; a
SEED for Oklahoma Kids (formerly Universal Model) Experiment that will
establish 1,500 college savings plan accounts among randomly selected
infants in the State of Oklahoma; rigorous research using account monitoring,
in-depth interviews, cross-sectional surveys, impact studies, and other
methods; and federal and state policy development and advocacy designed
both to establish progressive universal systems of accounts and protect
children and families from asset and other benefit penalties.
The
following diagram illustrates SEED's multi-method studies:
Initial
research, conducted in 2001, resulted in 13 research background papers.
SEED
operations began in Fall 2003, and the initiative is proposed to end
in 2015.
For SEED research and related publications, click
here.
If you
have comments, suggestions, or questions, please contact Margaret
Clancy, SEED Project Director.
