Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Centering the Margins: A Framework and Practices for Person-Centered Financial Security Policy
December 15, 2020
Financial Security Program
As of October, around 12 million people, disproportionately Black and Latinx households, had yet to receive their Economic Impact Payments. Further, less than 60 percent of the 33 million UI claims made by the end of May had been paid. The visibility and scale of these failures have brought renewed attention fixing the longstanding inadequacy, inaccessibility, and unresponsiveness of the nation’s financial safety net.
To change these outcomes, we have to flip the current top-down model of policy design, replacing it with a person-centered approach. In this paper, the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program in partnership with Springboard to Opportunities identifies a set of practices for applying a person-centered framework to the design and evaluation of financial security policy.
Download the paper today to read about how Springboard to Opportunities, a Black-women led, community-based organization, implemented its “radically resident-driven” ethos — and what policymakers can learn from this model.
States working with the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program put forward a shared set of “North Stars” that define good public benefits delivery. Amid challenges to our benefits system, these North Stars are more important than ever.
Shared language is a key starting point for organizations looking to adopt person-centered practices. This resource offers a set of common terms to guide how we talk person-centered work.
This resource outlines four phases of person-centered work, illuminating key features of each phase. Designed to be used by a wide range of leaders, this tool can support internal assessment, knowledge building, and strategic planning.
Benefits screeners are a popular tool for increasing benefits access. This report offers a framework for benefits leaders to understand the role screeners play and assess their effectiveness.
Young adults today are coming of age in a volatile economic and political environment. We spoke with 12 young people about how they are navigating the transition to adulthood and what it means for public trust more broadly.
Young adults are grappling with sweeping changes to the U.S. benefits system under OBBBA. This paper illustrates these impacts and offers recommendations that can help young adults.
Since 2021, Aspen FSP and our Community Advisory Group have worked to forefront lived experience of financial insecurity across our research and convenings. Learn how in this reflection by Riani Carr.
Mike Wilkening’s work as a public servant has followed a simple philosophy: government in service of its people. In this blog, he shares more about his leadership approach and his position as an Aspen FSP Fellow.
Most households experience at least one financial shock in a given year, but there are few comprehensive solutions to help them. How can we solve this persistent challenge?
