1. OpportunityTexas™ “Building a Strong Middle Class” 2011 RAISE Texas Summit Dallas, TX November 2, 2011 Laura Rosen, OpportunityTexas Coordinator Don Baylor, Jr., Senior Policy Analyst, CPPP 1

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3. www.opportunitytexas.org Opportunity Digest Join us on Facebook www.facebook.com/OpportunityTexas 3

4. OT Releases Ready, Steady, Go! Paper on College Financial Preparation Outlines postsecondary financial barriers in Texas, including high unmet need Makes following program & policy recommendations: Make financial aid adequate & accessible Encourage college savings Improve financial education, screening and planning 4

5. Strategies to Enhance Financial Preparation for College FAFSA Completion Financial Screening = EFC/Unmet Need Estimate College Savings Financial Education 5

6. Promoting Savings  www.texassaves.org www.texassaves.org  Tax-time Savings @ VITA/Community Tax Centers  Help More Texas Children Open Savings Accounts  Identify, Inventory & Promote “Saver-Friendly” Accounts  Integrate Texas Saver Enrollment with Financial Education  Texas Saves Week (February 19-26, 2012)  RAISE Texas Save n’ Smile  Media (Social & Traditional) Outreach & Engagement  Sign up Savers  Distribute Savings Resources to Clients  Offer Incentives to Individuals to Open Savings Accounts 6

7. OpportunityTexas Innovation & Investment Fund 2011 Investments Texas Council on Economic Education - Smarter Texas Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth Expanded VITA sites into two rural counties in North Texas through a mobile VITA site Foundation Communities, United Ways of Texas Incentivized filers to save in 9 communities across the state Making annual grants to support innovative asset building projects and projects with potential to scale 7

8. TY 2010 Savings Project Results  265 filers received incentive, generated participant savings of nearly $30,000  74% of incentive recipients said it was their first time to save a portion of their tax refund  Education was the most common reported savings purpose, with over 30% of incentive recipients reporting this savings goal  Take-up Rate range across VITA sites and incentives - < 1% - 8.5% (Avg=2.1%)  Average amount of Savings Bonds purchased - $119 8

9. Tax-time Savings in Texas Saving Increases at Texas VITA Sites OT Releases Tax-Time Savings Guide Calendar Year20102011 Filers that Split Refund 77836 Tax Returns Prepared93,206104,116 Percentage of VITA Filers that Split Refund.08%.80% # VITA Sites Where Clients Saved on Tax Return 3674 Total VITA Sites233242 % VITA Sites With Filers that Saved on Tax Return 15%31% Average Tax Return$1,962$1,935 265 (31%) - OpportunityTexas Projects 472 (56%) - Save USA 265 (31%) - OpportunityTexas Projects 472 (56%) - Save USA 9

10. OpportunityTexas Innovation & Investment Fund  2012 Tax-time Savings Grants  Foundation Communities ($10,000)  United Ways of Texas ($10,000)  $25 gift card incentive for purchasing Savings Bond with tax refund  Promote tax-time savings incentive projects in your communities! 10

11. TX County and Municipal Credit Score Data Average debt outstanding for 9 debt categories including: student loans, first mortgage, and credit cards Trades past due Accounts in bankruptcy Credit limit utilization Credit Score distribution Local Data Available Upon Request 11

12. Credit Scores in Texas: A Snapshot  Texas’ average credit score is 674, well below the national average (700)  41% of Texas consumers fall into the subprime credit score category (credit score below 660)  How Texas Compares to Other States  46 th in average credit score  47 th in share of trades past due  47 th in the share of consumers with “poor” credit scores (below 580)  50 th in high auto finance debt 12

13. Average Credit Score Lowest in West, East and South Texas June 2009 Credit Scores, Credit & Debt in Texas Counties 13

14. Many of Texas’ Largest Cities Have Credit Scores Below State Average (674) CityAverage Credit ScorePercentage of Residents with Subprime Credit Score (below 660) Laredo61758% Brownsville65457% Lubbock65844% El Paso66246% Ft. Worth66344% Houston66743% San Antonio66844% Dallas67041% Corpus Christi67048% Amarillo67241% Austin68741% 14

15. Percent of Tradelines Past Due Highest In South and West Texas June 2009 Credit Scores, Credit & Debt in Texas Counties 8.9% of all trades are past due in Texas compared to 6.9% for the U.S. 15

16. Update on HHSC’s Self Service and Community Partner Portals TANF $ Medicaid SNAPMEPD CBOs Applicants Provide a one-stop shop for HHSC benefits YourTexasBenefits.com Online Application Assistance Project Goals Streamline the Eligibility Process Facilitate Application Process for Clients Strengthen Community Partnerships 16

17. Current Capabilities Future Enhancements Self Service and CBO Portal’s Online Features 17

18. Project Details & Timeline Community partners will pick level of participation and receive appropriate training & certification (MOU) Pilot of community partner portal (January-April 2012) Soft launch with larger & more diverse groups, including VITA/asset building practitioners that want to provide application assistance (May 2012) 18

19. Texas Regional Opportunity Index (TROI) Identifies, develops, and compares economic mobility indicators across regions in Texas:  County-Based  Councils of Government (COG)  Three-Tier County Population Groupings  Incorporates  National (Survey/Census) Data  Federal & State Agency Data  Proprietary Data  Customized Sources & Queries  Updated Periodically Beginning in 2012  Final Product: Web-Based Platform with GIS Capability 19

20. TROI Landscape Types of County-Level Opportunity Indicators Primary Indicators (50-60): “bite-size” data points that reflect local outcomes and initiatives to expand economic opportunity. Secondary Indicators (70-80): Background (raw) data on opportunity measures not comparable across counties Widespread Economic Conditions (10-15): macro-level indicators such as poverty and unemployment Opportunity Gap: ways to show demographic disparities for various indicators based upon race/ethnicity; educational attainment, and income, etc. Also Includes Correlations Between Indicators 20

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22. Aransas County Income and Financial Stability IndicatorAransas CountyCOGNon-MetroTexas Share of Family Income Spent on Housing and Utilities f34.8%31.8%30.8%30.5% Share of Total EITC Returns Prepared by Volunteer Agencies14.6%5.0%4.5%9.6% CHIP Actual Renewal Rate47.8%57.6%56.6%63.6% Share of Income-Eligible Pop. Receiving SNAP59%65.8%56.8%51.2% Share of Residents with Food Insecurity17.0%17.7%18.7%17.1% Share of Low-Income Children (Aged 0-14) Enrolled in CHIP & Medicaid57.2%59.7%53.9%48.1% 22

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24. Savings, Assets, & Health Across Counties IndicatorMajor MetroMid-Major MetroNon-MetroTexas Bankruptcy Rate2.011.011.251.44 Estimated Foreclosure Rate3.6%4.1%4.4%3.6% % with Sub Prime Credit Score31.2%27.6%33.8%31.7% Student Debt to Income Ratio11.8%12.5%13.2%12.6% Credit Card Debt to Total Income4.8%5.2%5.4%5.2% Share of Mortgages Reported as Subprime7.6%8.8%17.1%9.1% 24

25. OpportunityTexas Desk  Implementation/Rulemaking  HB 2615 (Financial Education/HHSC)  HB 2594 (Texas Financial Education Endowment)  HB 3708 (Save & Match)  Texas Saves Week/Tax Time Savings  New CPPP Family Budget Estimator  HHSC Benefits Access  TROI Feedback & Development  Innovations in Savings Report  Innovation & Investment Fund Announcements 25

26. Laura Rosen OpportunityTexas Coordinator info@opportunitytexas.org Don Baylor Senior Policy Analyst, CPPP baylor@cppp.org 26

27. Wednesday, November 16 Four Seasons Hotel Keynote Speaker Jim Lehrer 27

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