Best Practice
Dick Smith, CRS
Bacon /
912-449-6624
912-449-8165(fax)
Money Smart
(For Payees Only)
Bacon County DFCS decided to
try something different when it came to presenting a life skills class. The
class, Money Smart, was offered to ‘payees only’. Payees are non-mandatory
recipients of TANF and the staff at Bacon County DFCS thought the ten week program
would be beneficial to them.
The Money Smart program is a
set of 10 instructor-led training modules covering basic financial topics. The
subject matter begins with a description of deposits and credit services
offered by banks and moves progressively to topics such as choosing and
maintaining a checking account, the mechanics of budgeting, the importance of
saving, and how to obtain credit effectively. In addition to the Money Smart
curriculum, Grandparents Raising Children information and support was shared.
Attendance and enthusiasm
were both good during the ten week, one hour sessions. Each weekly class
averaged six payees attending. The payees were quick to admit that they learned
from the classes, but more importantly the payees said they took the classroom
information home to the minors they were caring for. Because there was a great
deal of handout material during each session, it was easy to share the
information that was covered in the class. The sharing of the information at
home with a minor made the