School of Social Work News

Professor William Elliott III spoke with the Washington Post for an article about the new Brilliant Futures program, a child savings account program for two cohorts of students in Prince George’s County in Maryland.  

Elliott discussed how college savings programs can give participants long-term hope.  “Oftentimes when we think about poverty, we only think about the starving kid who can’t eat, not understanding that the additional problem and very significant problem with being poor is that you don’t think you have a future,” he said.

Professor William Elliot III provided testimony as an expert witness at the United States Senate Committee on Finance hearing on child savings accounts and other tax-advantaged accounts benefiting American children.

“Children’s asset investments are more than just financial benefits for higher education: they have demonstrated the potential to transform the opportunity landscape—and in the process, to reset young people’s confidence in U.S. institutions and their ability to deliver equitable returns,” said Elliott.  “CSAs help create an environment for forming tangible hopes. What makes them tangible is that they give children a stake in the future—their own, and ours. They give them the power to purchase a piece of their future today.”

Read CNBC's coverage of Elliott's testimony.

Professor William Elliott III joined St. Louis Public Radio in a spirited conversation about college savings accounts and their potential. The conversation was prompted by St. Louis Public Schools’ recent decision to pause its partnership in the College Kids Savings Account program.

Professor William Elliott III spoke with WalletHub about the ending of the student loan moratorium. “The student debt problem requires that policy both deal with its symptoms and its root cause,” said Elliott. “Paying for college should not be a lifelong sentence.”

Professor William Elliott III spoke with Forbes about how San Francisco’s Kindergarten 2 College program, which begins with just a $50 deposit in a college savings account can make a difference. “When you have an asset, it allows you to begin thinking about your future in a more tangible way.”

Professor William Elliott III had an in-depth discussion with CBS News Detroit about President Biden’s new student loan forgiveness program. “For those who have received a degree and come out with debt, this is going to strengthen the return on the degree,” he said. “The money they are making from having gone to college will benefit them far more by not having all this debt on them for really years and years — decades even.” 

Elliott also spoke with The Guardian about how student loan debt can affect and delay financial decisions such as owning a home, getting married and starting a family. “You’re not going to achieve a sense of the American dream at a period of your life when it means a lot,” said Elliott.

Professor William Elliott III spoke with St. Louis public radio about the transformational power of Child Development Accounts and the effect they can have on multi-generational poverty. One of the key things he’s learned, Elliott says, is that the way out of poverty lies along the path of asset accumulation. “Building assets allows people to build their full potential,” he says, “because it augments their ability to tackle the system.”

Professor William Elliott III told Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, that children’s savings accounts not only help families save for college, they can also instill them with hope and ambition. “Children’s savings accounts give people some grounds for believing they can change their future,” said Elliott.