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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Ruth Ramos, Innovation Program Manager, Customer Service Department
DATE: March 2, 2022
SUBJECT:
The Innovation and Strategy Division is requesting City Council approval to apply for a Kane County Grand Victoria Riverboat Grant in the amount of $100,000 to support the implementation of a Child Savings Account and Family Financial Literacy Initiative.
PURPOSE:
The City of Aurora is seeking to create a Child Savings Account and Family Financial Literacy Initiative through the Financial Empowerment Center. A Child Savings Account program provides a savings or investment account and financial incentives to children for the purpose of post-secondary education or other asset building. Research shows that creating college savings accounts dramatically increases the change that children not only enroll in college, but also graduate. Through improved financial literacy and support, we look to provide racial equity and accessibility to greater financial mobility for families in low-income areas.
In 2010, the Illinois Children's Savings Account Task Force recommended the Illinois 529 College Savings Program as a vehicle for a statewide program. In 2019, the ILGS passed legislation that Illinois would provide a $50 seed deposit in a 529 Child Savings Account for every child born or adopted in Illinois. Seed money is available through Illinois for every newborn in Aurora. The Aurora Child Savings Account Program will make it easy for all families to claim the state's seed deposit, while setting up goals and metrics to ensure the program is equitable.
BACKGROUND:
In April 2020 the City of Aurora partnered with the Cities for Financial Empowerment and The Neighbor Project to open Aurora Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) under Innovation and Core Services. The department has successfully implemented and located funding for the program over the last 2 years with the assistance of government grants, local agencies, and several area f...
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