IDA

Articles: Gov. Owens takes final action on 2006 bills, Two reports on high school graduation rates, Need for more alternative schools, Funding for higher education hit 25-year low in 2005, Raising the skill levels of low-wage workers pays off, Student debt may deter college grads from public service careers, Kitzhaber discusses ideas for universal health coverage, Economic security threatened by gaps in health insurance coverage . . .

The state should contribute at least $1 million each year to fund a statewide IDA program. That would help double the number of low-income families that can participate in an IDA program. It should also make the tax credit permanent for those who contribute matching funds to IDA programs.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary exploring options for encouraging savings for low-income families, including individual development accounts (IDAs).

We should fight poverty; 10 percent of Colorado???s families still live below the federal poverty line. But at least twice as many of our families and children live in the economic noman???s- land between the federal poverty line and actual selfsufficiency. We must ensure hard work pays and that necessities like housing, child care and health care are affordable. And we should make sure that low-income families can also begin to save and build assets.

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are matched savings accounts that help low-income workers save for a specific goal. This report explains how IDAs work and how Colorado can offer this highyielding tool to more low-income residents.

The Bell Policy Center today called on state legislators to take six key steps to bolster the state???s support of individual development account programs.