University of Maryland Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS)

By | May 20, 2021

Contact Name:
Dorothy Nuckols

Email:
dnuckols@umd.edu

Phone:
(410) 313-2707

Organization:
University of Maryland Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS)

Organization Website:
https://extension.umd.edu/programs/family-consumer-sciences/financial-wellness/personal-finance

Brief Program Description:
RE: Youth Personal Finance/Financial Literacy Program
"Let's Talk About Money – Smart Cents"

University of Maryland Extension Family & Consumer Sciences financial educators and 4-H youth development educators have teamed up to offer Smart Cents personal finance program for youth ages 10-18. The community based program is activity focused and research grounded. Smart Cents also offers a family engagement component. This takes the form of facilitated money themed game nights, take-home activities, and free workshops. We provide tools for parents and caregivers to help strengthen their own and their children’s money habits and skills.

The overall goal of the Smart Cents program is to increase the ability of youth to make informed decisions about financial health while strengthening their use of social and emotional skills necessary for success and they grow into responsible adults. Each of the ten lessons last up to one hour and are facilitated using the experiential learning model of experience, share, process, generalize, and apply. The program is flexible but is designed to be covered in a total of 10 hours. During this time, youth will learn the skills of:
• Financial Decision Making
• Spending and Saving
• Credit and Debt
• Employment and Income
• Investing
• Risk Management

Smart Cents lessons support national K-12 Academic standards in:
• Financial Responsibility and Decision-making (standards 1-5)
• Income and Careers (standards 1-3)
• Planning and Money Management (standards 1-6)
• Credit and Debit (standards 1-3)
• Saving and Investing (standards 1-4)

The Smart Cents program allows significant flexibility in scheduling of sessions, but is written for ten, one-hour modules. The modules can be split or combined to meet the needs of the participants, but outcomes are optimized when sessions are spaced.

Contact: Dorothy Nuckols dnuckols@umd.edu

Grade Ranges:
6-8, 9-12

How are most of your sites currently operating?
In-person, Hybrid, Virtual

Are you planning on offering virtual programming during the summer of 2021? Yes

Do you have the capacity to provide in-person summer programs in 2021? Yes

  • How many sites could you operate? Many. We operate ourselves, and in partnership with other organizations.

  • How many children could you serve per site? Site and organization dependent.

Do you have the capacity to provide in-person afterschool programs during the 2021-2022 school year? Yes

  • How many sites could you operate? Many. We operate ourselves, and in partnership with other organizations.

  • How many children could you serve per site? Site and organization dependent.

What counties are are you interested in working in?
Baltimore, Baltimore City, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s

What types of programming do you offer?
Science/STEM, Literacy, Social-Emotional Learning, 21st Century Skills, Career and College Readiness, Other Services

  • Additional services: Financial Literacy Program with training and materials

Do you have ESSA approval in any county in Maryland? No

  • If yes, which counties?

Do you provide transportation to your programs? No

Are you interested in partnering with other program providers? Yes

  • Briefly describe the kind of partnerships you may be looking for: We are looking to partner with any organization who would like to incorporate financial literacy into their programs or services. Extension offer a financial literacy/personal finance program for tweens and teens. It is activity and conversation based and built on social-emotional learning framework. UMD Extension can conduct the program virtually, in person for large programs if schedule allows, or provide the materials and training for youth serving organizations for them to do with their youth.

Additional notes/comments:
email is the most effective way to contact.