Share, Explore, Engage, Discover (SEED) Mini-course

Only incoming MSW students enroll in this mini course. Mini-course Description: The overall goal of this course is to help students respond to the "Financial Capability and Asset Building for All" Grand Challenge by increasing their personal financial literacy and understanding how to assess and intervene concerning financial problems clients may experience. This course will cover essential personal finance topics including household budgets and balance sheets, income, expenses, assets, and liabilities, unsecured debt, credit cards, credit scores, bankruptcy, different types of financial products and services, taxes, saving and investments, homeownership, and loans.

Students will also learn about the latest evidence in the field of household financial security, including financial shocks, income volatility, access to financial services, and consumer protection, as well as a brief summary of evidence regarding asset-building and financial education and counseling interventions and a review of key state and federal policy initiatives.

The course will cover financial insecurity as an important issue of social and economic justice, explaining how racial income and wealth gaps exist due to unequal access to economic opportunities born of current and past public policies and market behavior that discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender identity. Students will also gain awareness of financial social work as an emerging field of practice, which includes interpersonal, community, and policy practice interventions for promoting household financial security and resources for seeking more in-depth training and professional credentialing.