IN THE SPOTLIGHTS

National Public Radio (NPR) "The State of Things" with Frank Stasio
What's So Great About Being Middle Class? Thursday, August 18 2011

"In the wake of the global economic crisis, it seems Americans agree on at least one thing: the middle class is under siege. But who is the middle class? And what is it that's plaguing them? Host Frank Stasio considers the state of the American dream with guests... ...Michal Grinstein-Weiss, director of Assets Building Group and associate professor in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill..." Read the full article

'Money Doesn't Grow On Trees,' and Other Financial Lessons From Mom.
By Catherine New. * Daily Finance *
See full article from DailyFinance including an interview with Dr. Grinstein-Weiss

The Huffington Post
Homeownership and Individual Development Accounts
...A new study by a team of researchers from Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, University of North Carolina, and the Brookings Institution offers a new learning opportunity. This research focused on evaluating the ten-year impacts of a specific IDA program in Tulsa, Okla., which was focused on increasing homeownership among low-income families. The is notable in that it used a randomized experimental design, so we are able to compare the experience of a group that received the IDA for three years and those that did not. Read the full article

Professor Michal Grinstein Weiss has been selected as the winner of the 2011 Society for Social work and Research Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award.
“The Distinguished Achievement Award recognizes cumulative career accomplishments that set the awardee apart from other leaders in social work research regarding the extent to which their contributions have advanced the state of the art of social work research and/or its utilization.” (from the SSWR web site) UNC news release, Washington University news release,

Faculty testing two new solutions to help people save money, exit poverty.
By Susan White. UNC Contact Magazine
Historically, foreign aid and government welfare programs have focused on offering financial assistance to those in need. But at UNC’s School of Social Work, faculty members Gina Chowa and Michal Grinstein-Weiss are challenging traditional ideas for addressing poverty in developing countries and economic inequality issues across the United States. Full story

Dr. Grinstein-Weiss has been promoted to Associate Professor and received early tenure at the University of North Carolina.

Dr. Michal Grinstein-Weiss is leading a new initiative to implement child development accounts (CDAs) in Israel. In March, she traveled to Israel for three days of meetings with Israeli government officials and United States experts on asset building. Grinstein-Weiss, who is from Israel, and her team presented a proposal for an Israeli national CDA policy and a demonstration project to test the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing a CDA program building on the child allowance structure and education system. The feedback from Minister Isaac Herzog and the Directors General was very positive. The Israelis decided to form a steering committee for CDAs in Israel to move the proposal forward, which will include Grinstein-Weiss and her team. Click here to see the full article

Time to put more North Carolinians on prosperity grid
Michal Grinstein-Weiss and Solita Denard

Responsible Homeownership
Protecting Homeowners Today, Guiding Policymakers Tomorrow
New America Foundation
Featured Speaker: Sheila Bair, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Presenters: Roberto G. Quercia, Michael Grinstein-Weiss and Janneke Ratcliff
Center for Community Capital, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Click to read article

"UNC School of Social Work faculty search for solutions to help people cope with troubled economy" School of Social Work media

HUD's OUP Announced publishing the: Research in Focus Inaugural Edition including the article: "Assessing the Effectiveness of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) (Highlighted Grantee: Dr. Michal Grinstein-Weiss, 2001
EDSRG and 2003 DDRG grantee)." Click here to read this edition

Dr. Grinstein-Weiss was invited by the Israeli Ministery of Social Affairs and Social Services to give the opening remarks at the Senior Staff for Social Policy in Israel Podium: "New Programs to Alleviate Poverty - The Role of the Ministry of Social Affairs," held in Jerusalem, Israel. Michal's presentation, "IDAs and Asset Building in the United States: Innovation in Poverty Alleviation,"

laid the foundation for three additional presentations and an open discussion for all attendees. This prestigious conference examined the new reform recently enacted in Israel to address the growing problem of poverty and inequality, and the role of the Ministry of Social Affairs in addressing poverty. The conference was attended by Israeli government officials, researchers, policy experts, and practitioners. Click here to see a short movie of the presentation

Click here to read Contact, UNC School of Social Work Magazine, article about Dr. Grinstein work in Israel

Dr. Grinstein-Weiss' work was reported in the HUD publication "Ideas that Work." Click here to see the full article

Dr. Grinstein-Weiss' policy brief on IDAs was published by the Institute for Health and Social Affairs, a government affiliated think-tank in Korea. This policy brief was translated to Korean and distributed to government officers, major social work agencies, and universities throughout Korea. Click here to see the full article or click here for the English translation that was published as a working paper by the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis.

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