Baby Bonds in Context: A Systems Approach to Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

In 2021, both DC and Connecticut passed baby bonds legislation, designing state-funded trusts for children in families with low income. Since then, seven additional states have introduced bills proposing baby bonds programs in hopes of building wealth among residents and closing racial wealth gaps. In this dynamic landscape, much can be learned about how each of these programs is designed and how baby bonds fit—in practice—alongside other wealth-building and income-supporting programs.

Join the Urban Institute for a discussion with leading wealth experts and practitioners that will situate baby bonds within the context of other wealth-building and income-supporting policies, assess where baby bonds fit in an overall strategy for addressing the racial wealth gap, and show how state and local practitioners are developing systems approaches to tackling racial wealth gaps in their communities. Watch the recording here.

SPEAKERS

  • Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Chief of Membership, Policy and Equity, National Community Reinvestment Coalition
  • Rekha Balu, Co–Vice President, Office of Race and Equity Research, and Director, Federal Equity Initiatives, Urban Institute
  • Ofronama Biu, Senior Research Associate, Income and Benefits Policy Center and Office of Race and Equity Research, Urban Institute
  • Ray Boshara, Senior Advisor, Institute for Economic Equity, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
  • Grieve Chelwa, Director of Research, Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy, The New School
  • Alicia DiFazio, Committee Director, Business and Economic Development, Council of the District of Columbia
  • Heather Higginbottom, Managing Director, Co-Head of Global Philanthropy, and Head of Research and Policy, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  • Trina R. Shanks, Director, School of Social Work Community Engagement, Harold R. Johnson Collegiate Professor of Social Work, and Faculty Associate, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
  • Jim Taylor, Chief Equity Officer, Urban Institute
  • Sarah Rosen Wartell, President, Urban Institute

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