Performing Department
Family Social Science
Non Technical Summary
We live in a fast changing and complex global economic environment. In this context, families are continually challenged to provide for the financial health and well-being of family members and to prepare for their financial security in later life. Financial health is defined as the state of a family's personal financial situation. Experts agree that having enough to meet a family's needs and some wants, having savings to pay for unexpected expenses, and having some stock of wealth to be used in later life are basic indicators of financial health.In an environment of increased complexity and scarce resources, achieving financial health is particularly onerous. The National Capability Study (FINRA, 2012) concluded that individuals and families are increasingly asked to take charge of their own financial health, regardless of their level of income or assets. As a result, poor decisions such as taking on too much debt or using high-cost banking alternatives, especially for those who are living at the margins and are financially vulnerable, become ever more severe. This pressure creates a great deal of worry and stress for families, particularly in light of the erosion of the U.S. financial safety net since the mid-1990s. The 2015 Stress in America survey showed that money and work, followed by family responsibilities, are the top sources of stress for American adults (American Psychological Association, 2015).Although all families face economic challenges, families who are especially financially vulnerable are those with limited and/or uncertain income streams and those who are new to the U.S. economy - immigrants and refugees. Refugees and other immigrants often reflect the overlap of these two categories: they face tremendous challenges as they integrate into a new culture and nation; and policies and practices related to education, finances, transportation, diet and lifestyle, health, and language/communication, to name a few, are drastically different than those in their countries/cultures of origin. The handling of finances is one major difference faced by new immigrants. Most often they have arrived from fairly simple economies, often agriculture-based, in which economic decisions and transactions are very local and very personal. A handshake with a trusted friend in the local village was all that was needed to make a sound financial contract. Now in America, they are faced with an unbelievably complex and often unstable financial environment, one that is even very difficult for U.S. born native English speakers to navigate without adequate knowledge and guidance (Bell & Lerman, 2005).One of the major challenges refugees face when they initially arrive in their new U.S. home is learning how to navigate a foreign financial system. As discussed earlier, financial decisions and transactions were very local and very personal. Moreover, financial institutions in refugees' home countries were often weak at best or could not be trusted (Osili & Paulson, 2008). Now in America, they are faced with an unbelievably complex financial environment, one that is even difficult for U.S.-born English speakers to navigate without adequate knowledge and guidance (Bell & Lerman, 2005).The ability to access financial services and products is important to achieving financial health; the most basic of these are savings and checking accounts that allow people to conduct safe, efficient, and non-predatory transactions and provide a safe place to keep their money (Rhine & Greene, 2006). However, being unbanked is fairly common among recently arrived immigrants. They are 13% more likely to be unbanked than U.S.-born consumers (Bohn & Pearlman, 2013). Knowing how to navigate the complexity of the banking industry includes having the knowledge about products, having a level of language literacy that allows one to read and understand the terms associated with various accounts and products, and having the skills to manage accounts and payment obligations so as to not incur fees and penalties. Offering culturally-tailored services in immigrants' native languages has been found to lead to better integration with the U.S. financial system, perhaps due to increased trust and decreased communication barriers (Zonta, 2004).Electronic financial transactions using electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, debit and credit cards, and even checks, pose another unique challenge for immigrants and refugees who most likely used a cash-based system in refugee camps, and for many, in their countries of origin. Electronic transactions lack a tangible connection to cash money and make it difficult to know how much has been spent, how much is available, and how to plan to make resources last for the month or the year.Recognizing these marketplace challenges faced by refugees, as well as the importance of helping them develop skills to make sound financial decisions and raise children to be savvy consumers in a very complex marketplace, mutual assistance non-profit agencies and organizations have prioritized financial literacy education as an important area of focus for their work. While some non-Western financial education curricula are available to help immigrants transition into the U.S. economy, they are typically based on a general cultural understanding of the immigrant groups, anecdotal experiences of cultural insiders, and Western notions of family decision-making processes and financial practices. Professional leaders in the immigrant community question the accuracy and relevance of these existing curricula for the immigrant experience (Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment, 2006).Generally, refugee families receive intense services and support from resettlement agencies for the first three months after arrival in the U.S. However, once that support ends, we know little about the continued transitions and adjustments these families make, particularly how they adapt to their new work and financial systems. This project aims to interview Karen refugee families within the first six months after arrival in the U.S. and follow them for three years. Our goal is to gain a deeper understanding of their strengths and stressors over time, how they adapt, adjust, and acculturate. We will identify factors that influence the development of financial capability and their ability to achieve a goal of financial health and stability. Long-term we hope to develop culturally-relevant interventions that support refugee families during this critical period of adjustment.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of this project is to gain a deeper understanding of recently arriving Karen refugee families' strengths and stressors and how they adapt, adjust, and acculturate in the first three years of resettlement.Objectives:1) Identify strengths and stressors through qualitative interviews at 3-6 month intervals over three years.2) Identify factors that influence the development of financial capability and the goal of financial health in Karen refugee families3) Develop a financial coaching model, including materials, that is culturally relevant and situationally/temporally appropriate for recently resettled Karen refugee families.
Project Methods
Interviews: We will recruit five families with whom we will conduct 60-90 minute interviews in homes, or an agreed upon location, with the assistance of a trained interpreter. According to our human subjects' approval, we can only recruit for one interview at a time. After each interview, we will ask participants if we can return for another interview in 3-6 months. Depending on funding, our goal is to follow these five families over three years. Questions will focus on their experiences prior to arriving in Minnesota, who in their family came to Minnesota and where others are currently located. We will ask about their first experience after arriving in Minnesota, their support from the resettlement agencies and other organizations, the classes they took, and the tasks they were required to complete. Identifying what they perceive as family strengths and also the challenges they are encountering will be explored. We will ask about the stresses they are experiencing and how they are coping with that stress. Finally, we will talk about their hopes and dreams and their perception of their adjustment at this point in time.Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed. We will use an ethnographic data analysis approach which aims to describe and interpret behaviors and relationships within the context of culture (Daly, 2007), in this case through the process of adjustment and acculturation from the heritage culture to the destination culture of the U.S. We will identify patterns and themes across families' experiences of adjustment and acculturation.Financial Coaching: Three families will be recruited to pilot a financial coaching model; they will participate in at least three coaching sessions, approximately one month apart, to analyze their financial situation, create and implement a plan for managing their finances, and work through adjustments over three months. If needed, coaching may be continued for up to six months. These families may be the same as those involved in the interviews or different families. At each session, we will discuss changes in their situation, challenges they faced, successes they realized, and questions they have.After each session extensive notes will be taken about the process, where there were difficulties in understanding the concepts or tasks. We will also note specifics about their circumstances, what barriers they're facing, what is stressing them about their finances, and what support and/or resources they need. These data will be analyzed and used to understand the financial transitions they experience. For example, once family member(s) start work, we will note the impact that has on their government benefits such as food stamps. We will support them in making adjustments to their spending and saving.Financial coaching data will be used to develop cases, identifying and describing key junctures in the development of financial capability, specifically noting a) key transition points, b) instances of confusion about financial terms, products, services, and systems, c) encounters of barriers or supports to access, and d) evidence of gains in knowledge, skills, and confidence. Within-case and cross-case analysis will be conducted (Stake, 2005).Based on our pilot data, standard financial management materials and protocols will be culturally and situationally modified to meet the needs of refugee families. Then we will work with community-based organizations to train staff to integrate the program into their on-going work with refugee families. At that time, we will collaborate on evaluation efforts. This phase of the project will evolve as relationships are built with organizations through the pilot phase.