News and Information about Financial Education from the FDIC
In This Issue
Message from the FDIC
This edition of Money Smart News highlights new resources and promising approaches that can expand the reach of the Money Smart program to the visually impaired and older adults.
The FDIC now has available to order through our website new Braille and large-print versions of the instructor-led Money Smart curriculum for adults. This curriculum replaces an older one and can be ordered online for the first time. As FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg noted in a speech to the National Disabilities Institute, approximately one in five unbanked households in the United States is headed by a working-age individual with a disability. By making our latest curriculum more accessible, we hope to improve the ability of financial educators to help adults with visual disabilities learn more about money.
Money Smart News describes promising ways that the FDIC's financial education tools are being used. The Success Stories for this edition highlight how Money Smart for Older Adults has been taught since the FDIC joined with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to launch the curriculum in June 2013. As you may be aware, this tool helps seniors and their caregivers prevent elder financial abuse and prepare financially for life events, including an unexpected illness. We are particularly proud that this resource is widely used and promoted by social services organizations, banks, and others who offer financial education to older individuals.
Finally, we hope that you—and perhaps some of your colleagues—will find the FDIC and Money Smart News to be valuable resources. We also want to hear from you. Tell us which tools you like the most and how we can make others better. Also let us know about promising approaches or successful strategies you use that involve Money Smart and that you'd be willing for us to share in our newsletter.
Whether you are asking for assistance or offering ideas, e-mail us at moneysmartnews@fdic.gov.
Mark Pearce
Director
FDIC Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection
The FDIC Updates Its Money Smart Braille/Large Print Edition
The FDIC released a revised version of its Money Smart for the Visually Impaired, which consists of the curriculum in Braille and large-print formats. The content is updated to parallel revisions previously made to Money Smart for Adults. An instructor can use the printed instructor guide, while students follow along with either the large-print or Braille versions. This better enables visually impaired individuals to participate in financial education workshops. Money Smart for the Visually Impaired can be ordered by starting at
www.fdic.gov/moneysmart.
FDIC-CFPB Webinar on October 9 Will Highlight Classroom Tools for Teaching About Money
Join us on October 9, 2015, at 1 p.m. ET for a free webinar that will give an overview of the Money Smart for Young People curriculum series and how it can help you teach about finances. FDIC and CFPB staff will explain the key features of these tools and offer ideas for using them. Teachers, administrators, and others who provide educational programming to young people can benefit from this webinar.
Register to participate by October 7, 2015. To learn more about the new tools, which were discussed in the Spring 2015 edition of
Money Smart News, start at
https://www.fdic.gov/teachers.
Money Smart Success Stories: FDIC Curriculum for Older Adults Reaching Many
As the FDIC observes the second anniversary of the Money Smart for Older Adults (MSOA) curriculum, our newsletter features several success stories on how the curriculum has provided valuable and life-changing information to senior citizens and their caregivers. (
Read the stories.)
The Idea Exchange: Lessons Learned From Teaching Older Adults
In this edition of our Idea Exchange, we share helpful tips from Jenefer Duane, a Senior Program Analyst at the CFPB, on ways to use the MSOA curriculum to teach older adults how to protect themselves financially. (
Read the tips here.) If you have tips on any topics that you would like to share with other financial educators, send them to
moneysmartnews@fdic.gov.
FDIC Newsletter Features Tips for Teaching Young People About Money
The Spring 2015 issue of FDIC Consumer News features tips for parents and caregivers to help children from pre-kindergarten through college learn how to be smart about their finances. The newsletter notes that the FDIC and the CFPB have also collaborated on new education resources for teachers, parents, and caregivers. The Spring issue is available at
www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnspr15. Financial educators are encouraged to use FDIC Consumer News as a supplemental handout for students.
Financial Literacy and Education Commission Examines Youth Employment Initiatives
The FDIC joined fellow members of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) at a public meeting on May 21, 2015, that focused on several new provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Panelists discussed new rules that will result in people participating in youth employment programs consistently receiving financial education. To watch a video and learn more about the meeting, start at
http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financial-education/Pages/flec05212015.aspx.
New Guide for Community Service Organizations Promoting Financial Capability
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published an interactive guide for community-based organizations interested in promoting financial capability in programs related to housing, job training, and other social services. To learn more and to download the guide, entitled "Building Financial Capability: A Planning Guide for Integrated Services," start at
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/resource/afi-resource-guide-building-financial-capability.
New CFPB Tool for State and Local Financial Education Policymakers
In April, the CFPB issued a new guide that it hopes will connect policymakers with tools, information and insights to enhance K-12 financial education efforts. "Advancing K-12 Financial Education: A Guide for Policymakers" features three main sections: laying the groundwork, building the initiative, and expanding its impact (to reach more young people over time, for example). The CFPB stated that while the guide is likely to be most helpful for state policymakers, all members of the financial education community could benefit from its case studies and resources. Find the guide at
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/reports/advancing-k-12-financial-education-a-guide-for-policymakers.
