Financial Education for Social Workers

Abstract Social workers work with people who are financially vulnerable and who frequently have little financial knowledge and connections to mainstream financial institutions. Unfortunately, social workers often lack the knowledge and skills to help families who are in precarious financial positions to improve household stability and optimize their economic futures. Despite significant advances in financial education, social workers receive little practical training aimed at addressing family finances. We address why financial education is important, describe financial education initiatives, and then analyze an initial application of a course on financial management for social workers. The article concludes with a discussion about future directions for financial education in social work education, practice, policy, and research.