U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America	Frequent Questions Search

Font Size     Print     Download Reader

This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today announced the first award of $9.4 million for 40 demonstration grants under the Assets for Independence Demonstration Program. These new five-year projects will provide federal funds to match the amount of earnings that low-income working individuals and families put into savings for a first home; post-secondary education; or to start a new business.

Since 1992, the Clinton Administration has supported the creation of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) that empower low income Americans to save and build assets for their futures. The 1996 welfare reform law encouraged states to use their federal welfare block grants to establish IDAs. Since then, 29 states have included IDAs as part of their welfare reform plans. The President signed the Community Opportunities, Accountability, and Training and Educational Services Act of 1998, which authorized the first direct federal funds for IDA demonstration projects. The President=s FY 2000 budget proposes $20 million to expand the IDA demonstration program to additional communities.

"This new program is a unique way to combat poverty and enable the working poor to move into the economic mainstream," said Secretary Shalala. "Through IDAs, low-income families can invest in their future in a new and concrete way."

The grantees, not-for-profit community-based organizations, states and localities, will help those eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) create Savings Plan Agreements to put regular deposits in special bank accounts. The grantee organizations will make matching deposits ranging from one to eight dollars for each dollar saved. The demonstrations will establish more than 10,000 accounts.

"The Clinton Administration, with the IDA demonstrations, builds on a powerful economic self-sufficiency agenda to help working families succeed," said Olivia A. Golden, HHS assistant secretary for children and families. "To build on our investments in the EITC, child support enforcement and children's health insurance, and to ensure families stay employed, we now need the additional child care support proposed by the President in his balanced budget."

The demonstrations seek to learn the effects on people with limited means of an incentive to save; the extent to which a policy that promotes saving for home ownership, post-secondary education, or microenterprise development can encourage self-sufficiency; and whether an asset-based policy stabilizes families and communities. The program will be rigorously evaluated over its 5-year course.

The grantees and funding amounts are:

CHARO Community Development, Los Angeles, CA, $100,000
East Bay Asian Local Development Corp., Oakland, CA, $260,773
Enterprise Plus Economic Development, Fresno, CA, $86,879
Peninsula Community Foundation, San Mateo, CA, $250,000
Riverside County Dept. of Community Action, Riverside, CA, $57,500
Rural California Housing Corp., Sacramento, CA, $79,500
Mile High United Way, Denver, CO, $150,000
CTE, Inc., Stamford, CT, $215,000
Capitol Area Asset Building Corp., Washington, DC, $164,250
ALU Like Inc., Honolulu, HI, $500,000
Hawaii Alliance for Community Based Economic Development, Hana, HI, $116,022
Women's Self-Employment Project, Chicago, IL, $315,000
Indiana Department of Commerce, Indianapolis, IN, $930,000
Institute for Social and Economic Development, Iowa City, IA, $500,000
Heart of America Family Services, Kansas City, KS, $298,344
Center for Women and Families, Inc., Louisville, KY, $82,873
Kentucky River Foothills Development Council, Inc., Richmond, KY, $39,950
Coastal Enterprises, Inc., Wiscasset, ME, $109,500
Penquis Community Action Program, Bangor, ME, $117,000
Southern Maryland Tri-County Community Action, Hughesville, MD, $175,000
Allston/Brighton Community Development Corp., Boston, MA, $90,050
Five Cap, Inc., Scottsville, MI, $270,000
Michigan Neighborhood Partnership, Detroit, MI, $114,915
Ramsey Action Programs, Inc., St. Paul, MN, $500,000
United Way of Greater St. Louis, Inc., St. Louis, MO, $325,270
Community Services Agency, Reno, NV, $70,719
Economic Opportunity Board of Clark County, Clark County, Las Vegas, NV, $90,000
Affordable Housing Partnership of Albany County, Inc., Albany, NY, $52,500
Mount Hope Housing Company, Inc., Bronx, NY, $137,569
North Carolina Department of Labor, Raleigh, NC, $331,785
Ohio CDC Association, Columbus, OH, $500,000
Little Dixie Community Action Agency, Hugo, OK, $6,000
Human Solutions, Inc., Portland, OR, $273,363
Pennsylvania Dept. of Community and Economic Development, Harrisburg, PA, $930,000
YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, $300,000
Central Texas Mutual Housing Association, Austin, TX, $99,450
Central Vermont Community Action Council, Inc., Barre, VT, $71,825
People Incorporated of Southwest Virginia, Abingdon, VA, $133,000
Wisconsin Community Action Program Association, Inc., Madison, WI, $500,000
Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corp., Milwaukee, WI, $70,000

###