Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Baby Bonds topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Treasurer’s office seeks pilot funding and design feedback for baby bonds program aimed at wealth creation for low-income youth
Summary
The treasurer’s office outlined a proposed baby-bonds pilot to provide seed capital for children born into poverty, reporting plans to target births covered by Medicaid, to invest funds until adulthood and to limit uses to home purchase, business starts, education or retirement.
Treasurer’s staff described a proposed baby-bonds pilot that would seed savings accounts for children born into poverty and track outcomes over several years. The office said the concept aims to reduce economic inequality, support rural retention, and help young Vermonters build wealth.
Program outline: Becky Washington described a model that would identify young people born on Medicaid as the qualifying population and provide a per-child seed allocation invested until adulthood. The office described typical allowable uses between ages 18 and 30 as buying a home in Vermont, starting a Vermont business, paying for postsecondary education, or rolling into retirement savings. “The idea around baby bonds is trying to drive at this issue of economic inequality,” Washington said.
Pilot design and evaluation: the treasurer’s office said the pilot would accelerate the timeline by identifying older teenagers — for example, those about to turn 18 — and equivalently crediting them with a larger lump sum (the office used a hypothetical accelerated figure, such as an $18,000 account, to simulate the long-term value) so researchers can measure near-term choices. The office said it is seeking an independent evaluator and an account manager for a longitudinal study and would pursue private philanthropic support as the primary funder, while asking the state to consider seed or administrative support.
Scale, timing and funding: officials said the pilot cohort size should be sufficient for statistical evaluation — presenters suggested a minimum cohort on the order of a few hundred participants (the academic evaluator would set final sample sizes). The office said foundational grant funding requests could exceed $1,000,000 for long-term cohort funding and evaluation; the treasurer’s staff also asked for comparatively small state seed funding to cover administrative costs and to help leverage private donations. The office proposed a pilot duration of about four years for early outcome analysis.
Equity and targeting questions: committee members raised concerns about equitable targeting, the risk of selecting families who later move out of poverty or those who later become wealthy, and asked for evidence that being born in poverty correlates with poverty at age 18. Presenters said they would study existing pilots in other states (including Connecticut) and engage independent evaluators to test impacts and address selection and equity issues before scaling the program.
Ending: the committee encouraged the treasurer’s office to return with design details, sample-size proposals from an evaluator and a clear plan for private funding and state seed support if the pilot proceeds.
