Many people feel overwhelmed by their financial situations, and they may not know where to go for help. For many low-income Americans, frontline staff of nonprofit and public social services programs are in a unique position to provide that help.
Their clients already know and trust them, and in many cases, they’re already sharing financial information with them. Social workers and case managers know, however, that the financial stresses clients face may interfere with their progress toward other goals, like finding and keeping secure housing, staying in school, or even landing a job. As they make progress toward those goals, financial missteps can often erase their hard-fought gains.
That’s why social services programs across the country are taking steps to integrate financial empowerment into the work they do each day with their clients. To support their efforts, we’ve developed and field-tested a toolkit for financial services programs called Your Money, Your Goals.
The toolkit helps frontline staff understand when and how to introduce clients to financial empowerment concepts. It equips them to help consumers when it comes to:
- Making spending decisions that help them reach their goals
- Avoiding tricks and traps as they choose financial products
- Ordering and fixing credit reports
- Making decisions about repaying debts and taking on new debt
- Keeping track of their income and bills
- Deciding if they need a checking account and understanding what they need to open one
As part of a Your Money, Your Goals pilot, since last fall, 26 organizations led educational workshops in 21 states and the District of Columbia that introduced 1,400 case managers and other frontline staff to the toolkit. Workshop participants came from organizations that provide homeless services, veterans’ programs, mental health and emergency services, case management for Head Start, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as well from as housing authorities, health clinics, and faith-based organizations.
Most of the case managers who attended are using the information and tools with their clients, and they’ve told us that the training and tools have made them more confident talking about these financial topics. As a result, their clients are feeling empowered to take on challenges like paying down debt and building a spending plan to have more control of their financial lives.
Beginning today, you can download Your Money, Your Goals. Along with the English and Spanish toolkits, you’ll find an implementation guide, PowerPoint slides with trainer notes, and a train-the-trainer video. You can also sign up for news on upcoming training events and updates to the toolkit.
Several national and local organizations are joining us in training social services staff to use the toolkit. Each organization has set a goal of training at least 500 frontline staff. Catholic Charities USA and the Community Action Partnership will offer training to staff of their member agencies and affiliates. The Los Angeles County’s Department of Consumer Affairs will begin training county and area non-profit case managers this fall. The National Association of Community Health Centers Community HealthCorps program is equipping the AmeriCorps members it places in community health centers across the country to use the toolkit. Financial educators at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension located in counties throughout the country will deliver the training for social services agencies in their communities.
The many staff that will be trained through these nonprofits and government entities will, in turn, share new information and tools with thousands of low-income consumers. We hope this make a difference in their financial lives.
Check out Your Money, Your Goals and see how you can put it to work in your organization and in your community.
Continue Reading
Today, we’re releasing our third Snapshot of Complaints Received from Servicemembers, Veterans and their Families. The report details the data and trends from consumer complaints we’ve received from members of the military community since July 2011.
Here are just a few highlights:
- Debt collection complaints have continued to rise since our last report, and now make up 39 percent of total complaints. It is our largest category of complaints from the military community.
- Credit reporting remains a top category of concern. 72 percent of these complaints are about incorrect information on credit reports. This remains a significant issue for the military community, one that we highlighted earlier this year.
- Student loans are another concern. 49 percent of these complaints are about problems dealing with a lender or servicer. In these complaints, we continue to see long-standing trends, such as servicemembers complaining about not being provided their Servicemembers Civil Relief Act rights.
This year our report also highlights our outreach efforts that allowed us to connect with thousands of members of the military community, as well as three of our enforcement actions that recovered millions of dollars for affected consumers, primarily servicemembers, veterans, and their families. These figures represent the positive impact of the work we continue to do on behalf of those who serve.
Problems with account services
Basic account servicing stands out as a significant area of concern for servicemembers. Most consumers can call their financial institution, visit a branch, or connect online to try and get the help they need to maintain their account. Unfortunately, for military personnel and their families, the realities of military life, including deployments, frequent moves, and a high operational tempo, can sometimes make access to those services extremely challenging.
We found that servicemembers were often subject to a variety of account maintenance or penalty fees, as well as account-access restrictions, which were triggered due to aspects of their military service.
These problems raise concerns that financial institutions may not have a true understanding of the servicing needs of their military customers and may lack proper procedures and protections for them. Detailed examples of servicemember experiences can be found in Section II of the report.
Check out the snapshot to learn more.
We’re listening
As always, if you have a problem with a consumer financial product that you can’t resolve on your own; or if you know someone in that situation, please remember that you can submit a complaint online or by calling (855) 411-2372. We make your voice heard.
