Forum on Public Policy 1 Individual Development Accounts and Social Justice Yvette Murphy-Erby, Shikkiah Jordan, Marcia Shobe, and Kameri Christy-McMullin Yvette Murphy-Erby, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of Arkansas Shikkiah Jordan, Research Associate, School of Social Work, University of Arkansas Marcia Shobe, Director, School of Social Work, University of Arkansas Kameri Christy-McMullin, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Arkansas Abstract The concept and practice of dedicated savings accounts, called Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), was initiated in the United States nearly 20 years ago. Given that IDAs are in their early development, few research efforts have focused on well-being outcomes associated with IDA programs and asset retention nor have they employed rigorous designs. Additionally, no current research efforts employ longitudinal designs to explore well- being outcomes. To bridge this gap, we present justification for such designs and share our experiences in developing and implementing a quasi-experimental, longitudinal, research project focused on well-being outcomes associated with participation in IDA programs in Arkansas and New Mexico. To place the paper in context, we begin by identifying and addressing the theoretical basis of IDA programs, provide an overview of IDA initiatives nationwide and offer a brief literature review of existing IDA research. We conclude with an overview of lessons learned from the first two years of our proposed ten-year project. Anti-poverty policies in the United States have historically provided a degree of income relief to low-income households. Unfortunately, the policy strategies were designed to provide temporary assistance and did not address the long-term economic needs and development of low-income families with children. In an effort to move beyond the concept of income transfers only, social work scholar Michael Sherraden (1991) developed an anti-poverty policy initiative that built upon the strengths of historical U.S. asset building policies. Sherraden labeled his new concept Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). IDAs are dedicated savings accounts designed to help low- and moderate-income households create long-term assets in the form of homeownership, small business development, and post-secondary education (Sherraden 1991; Shobe and Page- Adams 2001). Given the relative “newness” of asset development programs for economically vulnerable households, research on the effects of IDAs for individual, household, and community well- being is still in its infancy. However, in the past 15 years researchers have found that IDAs reduce vulnerability (Lombe 2004; Yadama and Sherraden 1996) in a number of areas. For example, IDAs are found to be associated with increased asset retention (Christy-McMullin and Shobe 2007), social inclusion (Lombe and Sherraden 2007), quality of social supports, community involvement, social status (Moore et al. 2001), civic participation (McBride, Lombe and Beverly 2003) and financial self-efficacy (Sanders 2007; Shobe and Christy-McMullin