HomeAbout UsGrantsFormsNewsroomHelpContact Us
Search CSREES
Advanced Search
Browse by Subject
Agricultural & Food Biosecurity
Agricultural Systems
Animals & Animal Products
Biotechnology & Genomics
Economics & Commerce
Education
Families, Youth, & Communities
Food, Nutrition, & Health
International
Natural Resources & Environment
Pest Management
Plant & Plant Products
Technology & Engineering
You are here: Home / Newsroom / Newsletters / Family Economics News - May 2007

Family Economics News - May 2007

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) works with land-grant university partners and others to advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities through national program leadership and Federal assistance. Among the Agency’s goals is to support increased economic opportunities and quality of life in rural areas. Family economics aligns with this goal by focusing on how individuals and families obtain and use resources such as money, time, human capital, material resources, and community services; by exploring the relationship between individuals and families and the larger economy; and by studying the impact of public issues, policies, and programs on family economic well-being.

Research/Program Evaluation

  • 2007 Retirement Confidence Survey
  • Understanding Rural America

Education/Extension

  • NEFE® Financial Education Evaluation Toolkit
  • Youth Financial Education 

Resources

  • Credit Freeze
  • Don't Be An On-line Victim
  • Choose to Save®

Opportunities

  • Call for Papers:
    • Journal of Personal Finance
    • Journal of Youth Development
    • Financial Counseling and Planning
    • Journal of Family and Economic Issues (Special Issue)
    • The Journal of Consumer Affairs - Financial Literacy: Public Policy and Consumers' Self- Protection
    • The Eastern Family Economics and Resource Management Association Conference
  • Funding:
    • NASD Investor Education Foundation
    • National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) 
    • MMI Education Foundation
    • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

Calendar

Mailbox

A large percentage of American workers see that the U.S. retirement system is going through major changes, but many are not taking the steps that are likely to leave them well-positioned for a comfortable retirement, according to the 2007 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS). The RCS, begun in 1991, is the country's most established and comprehensive study of the attitudes and behavior of American workers and retirees toward all aspects of saving, retirement planning, and long term financial security. The survey, released April 11, is sponsored by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). This study finds that among workers who have personally experienced reductions in the retirement benefits offered by their employer, nearly 2 in 5 indicate that they have done nothing in response to these reductions. Further, almost half of workers saving for retirement report total savings and investments (not including the value of their primary residence or any defined benefit plans) of less than $25,000. The majority of workers who have not put money aside for retirement have little in savings at all: 7 in 10 of these workers say their assets total less than $10,000.      

Nearly 50 million Americans live in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas, as currently defined. The nonmetro classification covers approximately 2,000 counties outside the primary daily commuting range of urbanized areas with 50,000 or more people, and is widely used to define "rural" for research and policymaking. Nonmetro areas contain 17 percent of the U.S. population but extend across 80 percent of the land area. Relatively slow growth characterized nonmetro America during 2000-05.  During this period population increased by slightly more than 1 million, a 2.2 percent increase, compared with 5.3 percent for the nation. Several demographic trends are reshaping economic and social conditions across nonmetro counties. These trends serve both as key indicators of rural economic health and as generators of future growth and economic expansion. To learn more about how population dynamics are changing the profile of rural areas, visit the April 2007 edition of Amber Waves.

Top

As increasing resources are dedicated to financial education programs, it is essential to evaluate their effectiveness. Focusing on this challenge, the National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) provided a grant to the University of Georgia where a team of cooperative extension researchers created a toolkit to help educators measure the success of their respective programs. The  NEFE® Financial Education Evaluation Toolkit SM  is available online at no cost. The toolkit has two components: a database, which allows users to quickly and conveniently customize an evaluation tailored to their financial education program; and a supplemental manual, to help educators design a measurement tool and collect and analyze the resulting data.

Financial Literacy Day on the Hill 2007 was held April 24 in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC, as part of Financial Literacy for Youth Month. CSREES showcased its Financial Security Program, the new personal finance section of eXtension, and Cooperative Extension Youth Financial Education. More than 50 partner organizations of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy exhibited innovative financial literacy educational products and programs for members of Congress and their staff.  Other convening organizations were JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide and the National Council on Economic Education. Illinois Representative Judy Biggert and Texas Representative Ruben Hinojosa hosted the event.   

Top

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing financial crimes, with nearly 10 million Americans falling victim each year. The Identity Theft Resource Center reported in 2005, on average, an ID theft victim of new accounts and other fraud spent 60 hours resolving problems brought on by ID theft. Victims of existing accounts spent an average of 15 hours resolving their problems. A 2003 Federal Trade Commission study found that identity theft also costs U.S. businesses nearly $48 billion annually, and consumers an additional $5 billion per year. Some states offer a security freeze, which lets consumers stop thieves from getting credit in their names. A security freeze locks, or freezes, access to the consumer credit report and credit score. Without this information, a business will not issue new credit to a thief. When the consumer wants to get new credit, he or she uses a PIN to unlock access to the credit file.

The bottom line for online threats such as phishing, spyware, and hackers is identity theft. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your name, Social Security number, credit card number, or other personal information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. That's why it's important to protect your personal information. To access a free resource on guarding yourself against internet thieves and electronic scams, order a free CD-ROM from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Web site. There is also an online version. This ID theft resource has seven sections: Introduction to identity theft; Introduction to electronic scams; Protecting your information; Protecting your computer; What to do if you are a victim; Help for identity theft victims; and Resources.

Choose to Save®, a national public education and outreach program, is dedicated to raising awareness about the need to plan and save for long-term personal financial security. Developed by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the America Savings Education Council (ASEC), Choose to Save® develops user-friendly, multimedia materials to help individuals plan and save for their financial future, including public service announcements using humor, powerful images, and compelling information to encourage viewers (and listeners) to take charge of their financial future. The Choose to Save® website is devoted to financial education. It includes savings tools such as the Ballpark E$timate® retirement planning worksheet, more than 100 online calculators, brochures, savings tips, links to related resources, and other information to help individuals and their families manage their finances. Visitors can also view and listen to the public service announcements from the Web site. A variety of free savings tools and brochures focused on topics such as Saving for Your Family's Future, Just Starting Out, The Magic of Compounding, Maximizing Your Company Savings Plan, Why Open an IRA, It's Never Too Late to Save, and much more.

Top

  • Journal of Personal Finance. (Open submissions)
  • Journal of Youth Development: Bridging research and practice. (Open submissions) Contact Patricia Dawson with questions.
  • Financial Counseling and Planning (The Journal of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education). (Open submissions)
  • Housing Education and Research Association annual meeting, Charlotte , NC . Topics may include many areas of interest to housing professionals including instructional strategies, research programming ideas, issues, and policy. Deadline April 30, 2007.
  • Journal of Family and Economic Issues (Special Issue). Original empirical or theoretical research papers relevant to consumer finances. This special issue will focus on consumer debt instruments, such as credit cards, HELOCs, payday loans, etc. Follow 5th Edition of Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association to prepare your manuscript. The manuscript should not be more than 30 pages in length. Send an electronic copy of the paper, along with a cover letter, to Lucia F. Dunn, Guest Editor, dunn.4@osu.edu. Deadline May 31, 2007. (Note: This is an extension of the original deadline.)
  • The Journal of Consumer Affairs - A special issue on Financial Literacy: Public Policy and Consumers' Self-Protection.  Manuscripts are being solicited for an upcoming issue of The Journal of Consumer Affairs devoted to the effects of financial literacy on consumer welfare. The goal of this special issue is to extend our theoretical and practical knowledge of how consumers obtain, process, and utilize financial education. Submission guidelines  for The Journal of Consumer Affairs are detailed under: "JCA Author Guidelines" on the Blackwell Publishing Web site. Deadline June 1, 2007.  
  • The Eastern Family Economics and Resource Management Association biannual conference. Seeking submissions for refereed papers, posters, educational program resource exchanges, symposia, workshops, and research in progress and programs in construction. Deadline for refereed papers is October 5, 2007. Deadline for Educational Program Resource Exchange; Symposia/Workshops is November 9, 2007. Deadline for Refereed Posters: Research in Progress; Programs in Construction is December 7, 2007. Go to the Eastern Family Economics and Resource Management Association biannual conference Web site and click on Conference Proposals.

  • NASD Investor Education Foundation Grant Programs - The 2007 NASD Investor Education Foundation grant programs are now posted online. For announcements, subscribe to the e-mail newsletter for periodic updates and announcements of new grant deadlines.

  • National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE®) - In 2007, the NEFE® Grants program will include two, rather than three, grant cycles with the June cycle removed. The April and October cycles will continue as before. The grants submitted by December 5, 2006, will be reviewed for the April cycle. The next deadline for grant proposals is June 5, 2007, for the October grant cycle. To learn more about the NEFE®Grants program, visit the NEFE Web site and click on the Grantsmaking section.

  • MMI Education Foundation - The foundation uses its resources to serve the public interest and strengthen the communities. Periodic announcements and grant guidelines are available online.

  • Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Programs for 2007. The submission dates for grant applications in response to the PHS 2007-2 are April 5, August 5, and December 5, 2007 (May 1 and September 1, 2007, and January 2, 2008, for Aids/Aids-Related applications).

Top

  • Eastern Family Economics and Resource Management Association ( EFERMA) Conference, February 28-March 1, 2008, Savannah, GA. Details pending.

  • Galaxy III, Indianapolis, IN, September 14-18.

Top

  • CSREES Contact: Jane Schuchardt, National Program Leader, CSREES-USDA
  • National Initiative “Financial Security in Later Life” Contact: Nancy M. Porter, Family Resource Management Specialist, Clemson University
  • Financial Literacy for Youth Contact: Erica Tobe, Program Leader for Financial Literacy & Housing, Michigan State University
  • Financial Security for All eXtension ( (pronounced ee-eXtension) Contact: Debra Pankow, Family Economics Specialist, North Dakota State University, or go to www.eXtension.org and click on Personal Finance.

Back issues of Family Economics News are available.

To submit items for consideration for this newsletter, contact Jim Terry, Program Analyst, CSREES-USDA.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Mention or display of a trademark, proprietary product, or firm in text or figures does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and does not imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.

Last Updated: 07/30/2007