2014 Challenge Winner

College Savings Program

Problem

In our modern economy, a college degree is still the primary way that children can become self-sufficient and contributing adults. Unfortunately for many students — especially in low-income areas — lack of sufficient savings for college has been a barrier to higher educational attainment, limiting opportunities for future economic success.

Solution

Treasurer Jones is proposing to provide each child entering Kindergarten in a public school in St. Louis a seed account with $50, which they would have the chance to build upon via financial incentives for good grades, perfect attendance, and family participation in a financial wellness program. Studies show that kids with savings accounts are more likely to enroll in and graduate from college, and therefore become meaningful contributors to the economy. Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) also have the capacity to change an entire family’s mental, emotional, and economic health with spillover effects changing the family’s spending and saving patterns.

West Coast Infrastructure Exchange

Problem

The West Coast states face a $1 trillion infrastructure financing gap over the next 30 years. The Great Recession and slow economic recovery have strained the tax revenues of state and local governments, widening the already well-documented infrastructure investment gap.

Solution

The West Coast Infrastructure Exchange (WCX) was created by Oregon, Washington, California, and British Columbia to help redesign the way they plan, build, and finance public infrastructure. WCX works to attract private investment in public projects, share best practices, bundle smaller projects and incorporate climate resilience. This multi-state collaboration will help find innovative ways to fund necessary projects that may not otherwise get completed by relying only on traditional public funding. Through these infrastructure projects, the WCX aims to promote job creation and improve the region’s long-term economic competitiveness over time.

Pay For Success

Problem

Government often focuses more on treatment than prevention, which leads to solutions that are more costly to taxpayers and less effective. In education, this has led us to spend more on special education, dropouts, and jail–giving us less to spend on tools that help at-risk kids learn how to contribute.

Solution

Mayor McAdams is using Pay for Success Bonds to fund high-quality preschool for at-risk kids. Private investors buy these bonds from the government and get paid back if the preschool programs succeed in saving taxpayers money from fewer at-risk kids using more expensive programs like special ed. This pay for success model gives government the tools to fund an ounce of evidence-based prevention on the front end out of cost savings on the back end–and it helps elected leaders focus on what works best to achieve outcomes.

Town-Square Schools

Problem

Too often Cincinnati public school facilities were sitting unused after school hours, while there was a prevalent need in the surrounding communities for additional academic support and resources for students and their families.

Solution

City Councilmember Sittenfeld helped facilitate the creation of Town-Square Schools in Cincinnati to transform underutilized school facilities into round-the-clock neighborhood hubs, offering after-school programming, health resources, adult education, and recreational opportunities for students, their families, and the surrounding community. By bringing community resources into the schools, this approach has helped students get the extra support they need to be successful and helped build strong community partnerships to better maximize current resources to serve the needs of each neighborhood.

College Savings Program

Problem

Solution

West Coast Infrastructure Exchange

Problem

Solution

Pay For Success

Problem

Solution

Town-Square Schools

Problem

Solution

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