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.

Financial Capability and Asset Building in Vulnerable Households is the first book of its kind. It prepares students and practitioners for financial practice. This comprehensive text offers knowledge and skills to enable families to improve their financial circumstances, and to promote policies and services for household economic security and development.

This book introduces the concept of financial capability and assembles the latest evidence from ground-breaking innovations with financially vulnerable families, and links it to education, policy, and practice. This book is a key resource for those interested in improving financial education and financial products and services for low-income families.

This book introduces the concept of financial capability and assembles the latest evidence from ground-breaking innovations with financially vulnerable families, and links it to education, policy, and practice. It is a key resource for those interested in improving financial education and financial products and services for low-income families.

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.