TITLE:
What Are Characteristics of Tangible Hope? A Guaranteed Income and Asset Experiment in Saint Paul, MN/A Children’s Savings Account Program
AUTHORS:
William Elliott, Amanda Jones-Layman, Sunggeun Park, Subin Min, Megan O’Brien
KEYWORDS:
Children’s Savings Accounts, Financial Needs, Guaranteed Income, Baby Bonds
JOURNAL NAME:
Sociology Mind,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
31,
2024
ABSTRACT: The City of Saint Paul’s CollegeBound Boost (Boost for
short) program is the first to test combining
Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) with a monthly guaranteed income
payment ($500 per month; income support) and targeted quarterly CSA deposits ($250
per quarter; asset support) to families living at 300% of the poverty line or below. The current study examines how Boost participants perceive fulfilling their current and future needs with income and assets. We also explore how Boost study participants describe the
concept of tangible hope for their family’s future. Semi-structured interviews
with 32 Boost participants reveal that families perceive income’s role
in meeting their current needs and using
assets to prepare for their future needs. Study participants also described
five characteristics that may better help define what tangible hope
consists of: 1) a sense of comfort/security
about the future, 2) a future that is brought into clearer focus, 3) a future
that is attainable on some level, 4) a sense that one has a stake in the
future, and 5) a sense that something more is possible (i.e. increased ability
to hope). A policy implication of this study is that families
participating in programs that combine present income and future asset
strategies (such as Boost) might help families perceive their future as
more secure and attainable with a clearer focus and realize they have a greater
stake in their future with institutional support.