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  Madison County Employment & Training Department Wins Catalyst Award

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, a national organization promoting equal opportunity and support for low-income individuals and families, presented the Madison County Employment and Training Department with a Catalyst Award. This award was given to the Madison County Employment and Training Department (MCETD) for its creativity and success in developing numerous partnerships and incentives to reach diverse populations in the delivery of a financial education program.

The financial education program, entitled Financial Links for Low-Income People (FLLIP), is endorsed by the FLLIP coalition, which is a diverse collaboration of members and advisers that includes banks, advocates, government agencies, bank regulators, adult educators, private industry and sponsors of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). FLLIP’s mission is to expand financial education and asset-building opportunities for welfare recipients and low to moderate-income individuals and families in Illinois. The Grand Victoria Foundation of Chicago graciously donated funding to support the initiative in Madison County.

The financial education curriculum was developed by the FLLIP coalition in partnership with the University of Illinois Extension Center and is designed to offer a free, comprehensive financial education course. The course takes an innovative approach with activities targeted to the interests and experiences of lower-income consumers. Your Money & Your Life is the title of the curriculum, which the Employment and Training Department condensed into a 12-hour workshop. Upon completion of the course, students learned the basics of money management, budgeting, banking, credit management and many other vital financial skills.

David Stoecklin, the Program Administrator of the Madison County Employment and Training Department said, “This honor would not have been possible without the assistance of both our public sector partners, and the many private sector businesses that cooperated with our program. TheBANK of Edwardsville was both a financial contributor, as well as a real partner in the actual program. In addition, Coldwell Banker-Brown Realtors, Midwest Office Equipment and ADECCO Staffing contributed to the project.”

Through a two-year statewide program evaluation it was found that graduates increased their savings, as well as improved their knowledge and use of credit. It was also determined that students achieved a “significant knowledge gain” and showed better financial planning. Almost all the local graduates rated their trainer’s quality as either good or excellent.

For additional information on this program, please call Connie Vick at 618-296-4596 or Wayne Duelm at 618-876-5031, Ext 223.