Program Overview

Program/Practice Name: Assets for Independence (AFI)

Agency Name: Office of Community Services (OCS), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families

Contact Information:

James Gatz, Assets for Independence Program, Office of Community Services
370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20447
San Francisco, CA 94130
Phone: (202) 401-4626
Fax: (202) 401-5718
james.gatz@acf.hhs.gov

Type of Program/Practice: AFI is a Federal program that allows community-based nonprofit and State, local, and tribal government agencies to implement and demonstrate an asset-based approach for aiding low-income families. Using this asset-based approach, AFI helps low-income families save earned income in special matched savings accounts called Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). IDAs are used for purchasing a first home, financing the start-up of a small business, or higher education or training. Low-income families are defined as those who are eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or for the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), as well as those whose income is less than two times the Federal poverty line (approximately $40,000 for a family of four in 2007).