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Individual Development Account experts gather for conference
By Jessica N. Roberts Individual Development Account (IDA) experts from across the United States met at a conference, "States and IDA Policy: Knowledge-Building, Networking and Creating New Opportunities," Nov. 6-8 at the Chase Park Plaza. On hand at this second annual meeting were key individuals in IDA policy advocacy and development, state program development, administration, fund-raising and statewide coalition-building. The conference was organized by the Center for Social Develop-ment (CSD) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). The goal of the meeting was to continue to develop and strengthen state-level support for IDAs by creating opportunities for building the capacity and knowledge of key state IDA policy leaders. IDAs are high-return investment accounts that allow low-income families to save money for major expenditures -- a home, college education for their children or a new business. Much as employers match deposits in employee retirement accounts, financial institutions, foundations, churches and state and local governments will match deposits that low-income Americans make in their personal IDAs. The Annie E. Casey, Ford, and Charles Stewart Mott foundations provided support for the conference. This year's meeting included discussions regarding how state IDA policies relate to existing and proposed federal policies and provided opportunities for in-depth discussions on common IDA policy and program issues. "The conference gave over 100 people from 37 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico an excellent opportunity to discuss IDA policy," said Gena Gunn, CSD project associate and co-organizer of the conference. "This annual conference is the only one of its type offered in the world. There are a few 'how-to' IDA meetings, but there are none that offer a venue for exchange of policy information and ideas between IDA policymakers and advocates." Karen Edwards, CSD project coordinator, served as conference co-organizer and gave presentations on statewide policy trends and implications. Michael W. Sherraden, Ph.D., the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development and CSD director, delivered the keynote address. |
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