Young Americans Financial Literacy Act
The Young Americans Financial Literacy Act would create a new grant program within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to fund "centers of excellence" that research, develop, implement, and evaluate financial literacy education for youth and young families aged 8 through 24. These centers would deliver evidence-based programs, materials, and professional development intended to improve financial knowledge and decision-making, with a focus on at-risk populations. The act outlines what these centers must do (core competencies, accessibility, and dissemination), who can receive grants (partnerships among colleges, government agencies, nonprofits, and financial institutions), and how funding would work (annual grants with a stated range through 2029, plus reporting to Congress). It would also amend the Dodd-Frank Act to add a new section creating and funding these centers and establishing an effective date.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a competitive grant program, funded by the CFPB, to create centers of excellence for financial literacy education for 8- to 24-year-olds and their families, in consultation with the Financial Literacy and Education Commission.
- 2Authorized activities include: research-based program development, curriculum design aligned to core competencies (goal setting, budgeting, saving, debt management, etc.), materials for at-risk populations, professional development for educators, improving access to information, reducing student loan defaults, and ongoing program evaluation.
- 3Eligible grant recipients are partnerships of two or more entities from a defined set (institutions of higher education; state/local government agencies that specialize in financial education; nonprofits; financial institutions; or small organizations partnering with one of the above).
- 4Priorities for applications cover clear definitions of financial literacy, age- and SES-appropriate content, standards-based programs, asset-building, inclusion of at-risk populations, cultural/linguistic sensitivity, evaluation components, replication potential, and data sharing with the broader financial education community.
- 5Delivery requirements emphasize accessibility: content delivered through traditional and digital methods (including social media), with user-friendly websites that avoid dense, hard-to-understand material.
- 6Funding parameters cap and timing: annual grants must total at least $27.5 million and may not exceed $55 million; no new grants after the end of fiscal year 2029.
- 7Reporting and evaluation: an annual report to Congress detailing grant recipients, amounts, and the populations served; ongoing assessment of program effectiveness.
- 8Dodd-Frank amendment: inserts new Section 1037 (authorization for funding centers) and 1038 (effective date) into the CFPB provisions.