Improving Personal Financial Skills

(FOX Providence) - Later this week, over 100 high school teachers and social services professionals will come together to receive training in how to help students and low-to-moderate income adults improve their personal financial skills. It’s the 2010 Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition Personal Financial Capability Conference and here to talk about the issue is Peter Kerwin from the Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority (RIHEAA) .

What’s the focus of this conference?

The idea is to “train the trainers”, providing some of the most up-to-date information on financial literacy so this group of educators and social services professionals have the chance to multiply outcomes throughout Rhode Island by improving the skills of their students and clients. It’s a free conference, which is being presented by CollegeBoundfund, and is organized by the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition.

It offers expert speakers who will provide sessions on some of the new financial laws and how they impact consumers, as well as discussing topics such as budgeting, savings and reducing your debt. Phil Martin, Assistant for Financial Education and Student Aid with the US Department of Education, will be the keynote speaker. One of the Obama Administration’s key education goals is to make sure that by 2020, the United States has the highest rate of college graduates in the world. One important part of making that goal a reality is promoting financial literacy.

Is this conference tied into the National Financial Capabilities Challenge, which we’ve talked about before?

Well, last week, the US Treasury Department announced the kickoff for the 2010-2011 National Financial Capabilities Conference. They held this event last year and Rhode Island ended up in the top ten states in terms of number of schools and students participating. We came in 6th. We also had five Rhode Island students who earned perfect scores on the Challenge.

The Challenge is another way to engage educators, to make sure they have the tools to help students make smart financial decisions for themselves, their families and their communities. There’s a Teacher Took Kit and a website where teachers can register their schools at: www.challenge.treas.gov . The Challenge will take place next March.

The Jump$tart Coalition has played a critical role in promoting these events and other activities to make sure we Rhode Islanders are getting the chance to learn about saving, budgeting, investing, the safe uses of credit, and other important skills they need to make good financial decisions and improve their quality of life.

Conference presenters include: former Auditor General of Rhode Island, Ernest Almonte; Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Director of Economic Education (FRBB), G. Scott Guild, and FRBB Economist Anat Bracha; URI Professor of Finance, Joan Gray Anderson; RI Office of Housing and Community Development Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Coordinator, Caitlin Frumerie; Jump$tart Coalition Northeast Regional Director, Dan Hebert; Law Offices of Howard Lee Schiff, Attorney Robert Johnson, Jr.; Rhode Island Student Loan Authority Executive Director, Charles Kelley; URI Academic Advisor, Claudia Kerbel; Tolman High School Business Department Head, Dean Lancelotti; LGC&D Tax Manager and RI Society of Certified CPA Representative, Leigea Landry; United Way of Rhode Island VP and Director of Labor Community Services, Bea Lanzi; IRS Sr. Stakeholder Relationship Tax Consultant, Holly Longley; Money Management International Regional Director of Education and Community Relations, Sheryle McMillan; Chariho Principal Robert Mitchell; Smithfield High School Director of Academy of Finance, Stephen Rocco; NEL / CPS Construction and Career Academy Academic and Program Coordinator, Robert Scaffardi; and Psychotherapist Peter Rossi.

The 2010 RI Jump$tart Coalition Personal Financial Capability Conference has been made free to attendees through support of the Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority, Rhode Island Student Loan Authority, Council for Economic Education and United Way of Rhode Island.