Financial capability interventions, including financial education, coaching, and counseling, are intended to improve economic outcomes by building financial skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy, as well as expanding access to resources and opportunities to promote positive financial behaviors. Employment and training (E&T) contexts provide opportunities to deliver these interventions to lower-income populations, but there is little evidence on the effectiveness of this channel. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has funded MEF Associates to conduct a study to better understand the extent of financial capability interventions in E&T programs, key features of such programs, the factors that have led to their inclusion, and what evidence exists on the effectiveness of such interventions in the E&T context. The study involves consultations with experts and stakeholders; an online survey of employment programs with financial capability components; a review of existing literature; and three special topics briefs, one of which will be regarding the timing of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) payments. This study aims to help establish a basis for future research and evaluation in this area. The Urban Institute is a subcontractor to MEF on this project.
