FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The Department of the Treasury today announced that Kristin Smith, Director of the Office of Financial Education (OFE), is visiting Miami to promote financial education within the Hispanic community. 

While in Miami, Smith will present an honorary certificate of recognition to the Greater Miami Prosperity Campaign for its successes in providing financial education to the community.  In addition, Smith will launch the Spanish language version of the OFE’s online Federal Financial Education Resource Directory, Directorio Federal de Educación Financiera, during the “Women & Money” Hispanic Financial Literacy Conference sponsored by the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor at Miami Dade College.

“Treasury’s Office of Financial Education helps Americans access financial education programs to obtain the knowledge and skills they need to make informed financial choices throughout their lives.” said Office of Financial Education Director Kristin H. Smith. “To enhance financial literacy in America, we highlight effective financial education programs across the country to increase the program’s visibility within the community and try to make it easier for individuals to utilize existing resources.” 

The Greater Miami Prosperity Campaign’s goals are to increase the number of workers in Miami-Dade County claiming the refundable federal Earned Income Tax Credit in the upcoming tax season, to promote financial education, and to enhance these workers’ ability to build assets by linking them to financial institutions and asset development programs.

The Directorio Federal de Educación Financiera will provide an estimated 29 million U.S. residents who speak Spanish at home with access to the many financial education resources available within the federal government.  The guide includes information on fifteen separate resources and programs available in Spanish, catalogued by subject area, program name, and sponsoring organization.  This information can also be used to assist organizations that implement financial education initiatives within the Hispanic community.  

The Spanish-language directory is available through the OFE’s website at www.treasury.gov/financialeducation.
 
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Education was established in May 2002. The OFE is responsible for focusing the Department’s financial education policymaking, and for ensuring coordination on financial education within the Department and all of its bureaus. The OFE serves to provide the Department of the Treasury with expertise on the many complex and interdisciplinary issues involved in financial education, and is able to tap into the Department’s wide base of expertise on finance.  The OFE also supports the efforts of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, a group chaired by the Secretary of Treasury and composed of representatives from 20 federal departments, agencies, and commissions, which works to improve financial literacy and education for people throughout the United States.