Center for Social Development

Some say the is behind the curve on , but we see mission, ethics, and equity as key strengths in navigating innovation. "Ethical AI in the Social Sector," a free self-paced short course, was designed to offer social sector organizations strategies and frameworks for drawing upon those strengths to integrate AI responsibly.

The course was developed by CSD's Data for Social Impact initiative and made possible by support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

Explore this and other courses from DSI: https://csd.wustl.edu/education-practice/dsi/free-online-dsi-course/

Open Online Courses We are all data people, and no matter how you interact with data, you can learn to leverage it to increase impact in your organization. Courses from the Data for Social Impact initiative will help …

On Wednesday, CSD Research Director Stephen Roll and Senior Scholar Mathieu Despard presented “How Benefits Systems Shape Workers’ Economic Decisions” in a virtual seminar hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The presentation examined how recipients experience and navigate the earnings and savings disincentives embedded in public benefit programs. Drawing on longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of low-wage workers, the authors highlight how these barriers shape workers’ decisions and —and identify opportunities for and administrative reform.

If you missed the presentation or would like to dig deeper, explore their work here: https://csd.wustl.edu/tag/workforce-economic-inclusion-and-mobility/

CSD's Ray Boshara talks with The New York Times about the consensus behind Treasury's shift to automate enrollment into Trump Accounts.

The shift rests on years of CSD research into effective design for children’s account policy. Within that body of work are findings from , a statewide policy experiment launched in 2007, as well as a series of influential CSD briefs about implementation choices—including automatic enrollment.

Go deeper: https://csd.wustl.edu/items/early-wealth-building/

What to Know About Trump Accounts as More Than 60 Million Children Are Auto-Enrolled The Trump administration may have just signed up your child — and more than 60 million others — for a 530A savings account (if you haven’t already done so).

🔴Today is the deadline to submit abstracts for "Financial Capability and Asset Building Innovations for the Financial Well-Being Ecosystem." Don't miss this chance to share your work!

Submit now: https://csd.wustl.edu/fcab-2027/

Tara Siegel Bernard and Claire Cain Miller quote CSD Senior Policy Advisor Ray Boshara on the research—much of it from CSD—that informed the move to auto-enroll over 60 million kids in Trump Accounts.

Learn more at The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/business/trump-accounts-auto-enrollment.html

What to Know About Trump Accounts as More Than 60 Million Children Are Auto-Enrolled The Trump administration may have just signed up your child — and more than 60 million others — for a 530A savings account (if you haven’t already done so).

CSD's Stephen Roll tells CNBC that the will likely be more effective than the . His research helps explain why: 57% of surveyed low-wage workers said they were very or somewhat likely to claim the Saver’s Match, but reported participation in the Saver’s Credit was very low.

🔸Read the story by CNBC's Sarah Agostino: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/savers-match-irs-retirement-benefit.html

🔸Explore the research findings:
"Savings Incentives and the SECURE 2.0 Act: New Evidence on Employer-Sponsored Emergency Savings Accounts and the Saver’s Match," by Stephen Roll, Mathieu Despard, and Selina Miller. https://csd.wustl.edu/25-12/

IRS sends notices on Saver's Match to taxpayers who might qualify for new benefit, worth up to $2,000 The new program, which will give eligible savers a federal match for contributions to their retirement accounts, starts in 2027 and replaces the saver's credit.

With the move to automatic enrollment for Trump Accounts, Treasury takes a major step toward the gold-standard identified in CSD research.

But questions remain about the process for claiming an account—whether that process is designed so that every eligible child can truly access their account and its benefits. CSD’s Jin Huang talks with Bloomberg's Caitlin Reilly about why the details matter.

Mott Foundation

All US Kids May Automatically Get Trump Accounts Under New Rule All US children under 18 could be automatically enrolled in Trump Accounts under a proposed Treasury Department rule that would dramatically expand the reach of one of the president’s signature initiatives.

♦️Call for abstracts closes tomorrow!
Friday, Oct. 2, is the deadline for submissions for "Financial Capability and Asset Building Innovations for the Financial Well-Being Ecosystem," an international convening to be held on Jan. 20—1 day before .

Contributions to this event will inform development of research, policy, and practice agendas in the United States and other countries. to develop a broad agenda for advancing financial well-being. Contribute now: https://csd.wustl.edu/fcab-2027/

TOPICS OF INTEREST
🔸 Conceptual and theoretical contributions to personal and
🔸 Measurement and evidence for the
🔸 environment for financial capability and well-being
🔸 Asset-building policies ( , Trump Accounts, and related policy designs, implementation, and impacts)
🔸 Workforce, education, and delivery (including as a scalable delivery system)
🔸 Global and comparative innovations in financial capability and asset building
🔸 , , and
🔸 Practice and interventions on financial capability and asset building with financially vulnerable populations
🔸 Technology and digital infrastructure for financial capability and inclusion

This event is organized by a special committee of the network to “Build Financial Capability and Assets for All” within the Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative. This work is made possible through generous support from the Center for Social Development at WashU Brown School, the National Endowment for Financial Education, and the Saint Louis University - School of Social Work.

Learn more about the event and find the full call at https://csd.wustl.edu/fcab-2027/

Grand Challenges for Social Work

Michael Sherraden’s keynote at Fondazione Ufficio Pio 's 430th anniversary celebration reflected decades of scholarship and policy leadership, from his seminal 1991 book “Assets and the Poor” to asset-building research and his profound contributions to today's early wealth-building movement.

Check out the recap and learn about his chapter in a new book from : https://csd.wustl.edu/sherraden-turin-26/

Photo: Luigi Stanchi/Fondazione Ufficio Pio.

Sherraden Keynotes Anniversary Celebration, Book Launch As Peking University planned a December event to celebrate the centennial of social work education there, they sought out a keynote speaker with first-hand knowledge of the university’s impact on t…

🟠Just 2 days left!
Abstracts are due Oct. 2 for "Financial Capability and Asset Building Innovations for the Financial Well-Being Ecosystem," a convening to be held on Jan. 20—1 day before .

A convening for and educators from around the globe, this event will connect the National Endowment for Financial Education’s personal-finance ecosystem framework with the conceptual framework for and asset building. In addition to emphasizing a systematic, comprehensive understanding of , both models recognize that sustainable outcomes require individual capability and structural opportunities.

Contributions to this event will inform development of research, policy, and practice agendas in the United States and other countries. to develop a broad agenda for advancing financial well-being,

TOPICS OF INTEREST
🔸 Conceptual and theoretical contributions to personal financial well-being and financial capability
🔸 Measurement and evidence for the personal finance ecosystem
🔸 Social policy environment for financial capability and well-being
🔸 Asset-building policies (Child Development Accounts, Trump Accounts, and related policy designs, implementation, and impacts)
🔸 Workforce, education, and financial-education delivery (including social work as a scalable delivery system)
🔸 Global and comparative innovations in financial capability and asset building
🔸 Financial inclusion, access, and equity
🔸 Practice and interventions on financial capability and asset building with financially vulnerable populations
🔸 Technology and digital infrastructure for financial capability and inclusion

Contribute to the conversation!
https://csd.wustl.edu/fcab-2027/