Individual Development Account Collaborative of Louisiana

Category: Best Collaboration to Promote Homeownership

Information About Innovation:
Title:	Individual Development Account Collaborative of Louisiana
Summary:	Tulane University's IDA Collaborative of Louisiana (IDACL) has grown to include over 50 organizations across the state. Using this diverse network and an innovative on-line case management/reporting system, the IDACL has counseled over 1,700 families and produced over 300 new homeowners in the last two years alone. This burgeoning collaborative has also significantly enhanced the capacity of the participating organizations and developed a model for university-led initiatives.
Detailed Description:	Individual development accounts (IDAs) are dedicated savings accounts that allow low-income workers to save towards the acquisition of assets as a way out of poverty. Asset goals funded include homeownership, micro-enterprise ownership, and post-secondary education, all proven to help move low-income workers out of poverty. Participants invest their own savings and take part in financial education and asset specific training that adds to their knowledge base and allows them to become educated consumers of financial products and asset-building strategies. Asset training consists of first-time-homebuyer training, micro-enterprise business planning, and educational career counseling. Louisiana’s program provides participants with a 4:1 match on a maximum of $1,000 of their own savings towards the purchase of one of the three assets. By providing participants with both the capital (up to $4,000 in match funds) and the financial education to succeed, IDACL’s program has proven to be very successful in permanently lifting Louisiana working families out of poverty. It is the only program of its kind whose success is dependent on the sacrifice and saving of participants, thereby ensuring their long-term success as productive citizens. Through working with the agencies that make up our statewide infrastructure, we recruit, enroll, train and graduate IDA candidates. Thanks to the size and diversity of the collaborative, the IDACL is able to service residents of all areas of the state, even those in outlying rural areas. The university has even pioneered a unique, online database management system though which social service partners can electronically submit participant applications, update their client lists, and invoice for services rendered. This online system also allows program administrators to run instant data reports that summarize the progress participants of a particular organization or the program as a whole have made since their application. Because of the extensive partner infrastructure, Tulane’s experience in delivering IDAs and our technological ability, statewide demand for the program has been very strong and program outcomes (see below) have exceeded projections in all performance indicators.
Projected Cost:	As the size of the IDACL has grown considerably over the last two years, so have the costs of operating the program. While we operated on a $2,000,000 budget for each of the last two years (thanks to the TANF dollars awarded to us by Lousiana's DSS), the projected annual cost of running the program is much less thanks to a $700,000 matching award received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. With this award, the IDACL can match up to that amount in incoming funds and can thus operate at basically the same level as before with an estimated $500,000 yearly budget.
2003 Outcomes:	During calendar year 2003 we achieved the following outcomes: 1116 completed applications received 906 participants received credit counseling and individualized financial plans 766 applications approved and IDA accounts opened 518 participants completed 12 hour financial education course 477 participants completed 12 hour asset-specific training (first-time homebuyer training or micro-enterprise training) 157 participants graduated and purchased assets 125 of these graduates purchased homes As of June 30,2004 the following outcomes have been achieved: 1794 have recevied credit counseling 1028 have completed financial education 838 have completed asset training 617 of these participants have graduated by purchasing assets 319 have purchased homes
Website:	http://idacola.tulane.edu
Keywords:	financial education, homeownership, individual development accounts, statewide collaborative
Information About Organization:
Name:	Neill Goslin
Address 1:	200 Broadway
Address 2:	Suite 105
City, State, Zip:	New Orleans, Louisiana  70115
Org. Status:	501c3 Non-Profit
Contact Name:	Neill Goslin
Contact E-mail:	ngoslin@tulane.edu
Contact Phone:	504-314-2760

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