IDA Program
Best Practices
Following are lessons learned by existing IDA programs and recommendations for best practices in IDA Program design.
- Be Sure Your Agency has the Capacity to Operate an IDA Program. IDA Programs
are most effective when housed in agencies that have additional administrative
and programmatic resources to support them. Also, since IDA Programs are
long-term (Participants typically remain in IDA Programs for 3 to 5 years),
your agency should be confident of its ability to sustain the IDA Program
over time. Your agency's Strategic Planning process, in which you analyze
agency and community strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and challenges,
will give you a clear idea of your capacity and help you decide if an IDA
Program fits within your agency's mission.
- Spend Adequate Time Designing Your IDA Program. An IDA Program must be
designed to ensure that Participants have the ability and sufficient time
to reach their savings goal. The match rate must be adequate to allow an
asset purchase in your geographical area. This requires careful Program
planning and design. Be sure to include potential Participants in the IDA
Program design process, so that you can be clear on the expectations and
requirements of your target population.
- Choose Program Partners Carefully. Strong partners are important to IDA
Program success. Few, if any, community organizations have the capacity
to operate an IDA Program alone. Financial institution partners can hold
accounts, assist with Financial Education, and provide financial and other
resources. Other community partners can refer Participants, offer training
and counseling, and provide funding. Look for partners that prioritize the
IDA Program by dedicating resources and staff time to it and then carefully
define the parameters of your collaboration in writing.
- Recruitment of Participants May be Harder Than You Expect. IDA Programs
have typically found that recruitment can be difficult, especially when
a Program is just starting up. You are asking individuals and families to
change their behavior around saving and spending, and to make a long-term
commitment to participate in the Program. Not everyone is ready to make
this commitment. Marketing through your agency's existing programs is a
good way to recruit, since your agency has already built up a solid foundation
of trust with customers. Recruitment will pick up when word-of-mouth spreads
to the family and friends of your first IDA participants.
- Include Proven Program Components. Best practices in IDA Program operation
have shown that IDA Programs are most successful if they are made up of
the following components: Orientation, Assessment, Financial Education Training,
IDA Accounts, Case Management/Crisis Intervention, Asset-Specific Training/Savings
Clubs, Purchase of Assets, Post-Purchase
Follow-Up and Support.
- Plan for at Least One Full-Time Staff Person in Mid-Sized Programs. To
operate IDA Programs effectively, a good rule-of-thumb is one full-time
staff person for each 50 Participants. Tasks that must be performed by this
staff person will include recruitment, assessment, development of a Savings
Plan with each Participant, operating or arranging for Financial Education
and Asset-Specific training, Case Management, monitoring Participants' savings,
crisis intervention, referrals to outside agencies for services, arranging
for withdrawals and asset purchases, and follow-up.
- Carefully Design Financial Education Classes and Asset-Specific Training.
Financial Education classes are critical to a Participant's successful start
on their road to an asset purchase. Completion of Financial Education training
(usually 6 to 10 classes) is a requirement for remaining in the Program.
There are several good Financial Education curricula available which cover
topics such as budgeting, responsible credit use, savings, investments,
taxes, etc. Asset-Specific Training is provided monthly for the duration
of the Program. Its purpose is to ensure that Participants receive training
on resources needed to purchase specific assets and on how to maintain their
assets after purchase. Schedule classes at times convenient for participants
and, if possible, offer childcare and transportation to make it easier for
participants to attend the classes.
- Closely Track and Support Participants' Progress. Regular Case Management
is critical to success. IDA Programs should closely monitor Participants'
deposits and withdrawals and attendance at training and case management
sessions. Be sure to use an effective Management Information System. Encourage
Participants by acknowledging and reinforcing positive behavior change.
- Systematically Evaluate Your IDA Program. Build an evaluation component
into your IDA Program. By evaluating your Program against specific, measurable
Goals and Objectives you will be able to judge the effectiveness of your
Program, as well as contribute to the body of knowledge growing nationwide
on the usefulness of IDA Programs in moving families to self-sufficiency.
- Communicate Regularly with Other IDA Programs. The IDA field is still new and growing rapidly. Our knowledge of what works best is also quickly increasing. Use IDA resources, such as the IDA list serve and the IDA Learning Network to find the latest information on state and federal IDA Policy and to share what you are learning.