CLIENT

See service recipient.		  
close
  SERVICE

One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.		  
close
  MANAGEMENT

See ADMINISTRATION		  
close
  FAMILY

Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."		  
close
  PRACTICE

Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.		  
close
  CONSUMER

The individual, family, group, or community that seeks or receives services.		  
close
  PROGRAM

A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.		  
close
  EMPLOYEE

Paid member of an organization. Foster parents are not considered employees and are specifically referenced in relevant standards. 		 
close
COA
USER:  PASS:  LOG IN         
SEARCH:    GO
 
Print
 
Financial Education and Counseling Services
  
Private Org Public Agency  

FEC 5: Financial Education and Counseling Services

 
The organization supports and delivers a variety of counseling and education services on family money management, budgeting, and the prudent, intelligent use of credit.

FEC 5.01

 

The organization educates clients and provides general information about:

  1. their rights;
  2. public and non-profit resources that can offer assistance; and
  3. applicable laws and regulations.
Interpretation: Applicable laws and regulations may include the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, and other consumer credit legislation and regulations.

FEC 5.02

 

Counseling and education services offer the full range of options to address debt problems, and include information about:

  1. negotiating directly with creditors on payment or interest rate relief;
  2. changing buying habits;
  3. strategies for saving money;
  4. custom designed payment plans; and
  5. advantages and challenges of all options, including bankruptcy, DMPs, and self-administered payment plans.

FEC 5.03

 

Education programs include information that addresses, as applicable:

  1. money management and budgeting;
  2. affordable levels of debt and debt warning signs;
  3. appropriate use of credit and alternatives to credit use;
  4. types, sources, and costs of credit and loans;
  5. solving credit problems;
  6. obtaining and understanding credit reports;
  7. re-establishing credit; and
  8. alternatives to bankruptcy.

FEC 5.04

 

Clients are educated about the advantages of developing a budget, including how to:

  1. establish short and long-term financial goals and how to achieve them;
  2. calculate gross and net monthly income; and
  3. identify and classify monthly expenses as fixed, variable, or periodic.

FEC 5.05

 

Money-management education includes information about:

  1. how to maintain adequate financial records;
  2. making decisions about purchases based on wants and needs;
  3. the value of insurance coverage; and
  4. saving for emergencies, periodic expenses, and long-term goals.

FEC 5.06

 

The organization provides, either directly or through contractual arrangements:

  1. counseling and education programs to a wide range of age groups in educational settings, in public settings, and in the potential service area; and
  2. information about its services to potential referral sources, such as employee assistance programs and social service organizations.
Interpretation: Audiences can include high schools, trade schools, adult education programs, colleges and universities, civic organizations, religious organizations, and the military, if located in the area.

FEC 5.07

 
The organization measures the effectiveness of counseling and education programs.
Update: Revised Interpretation - 06/01/10

FEC 5.07 Original Interpretation:

Evidence of effectiveness may be established through, for example, pre- and post-testing, exit interviews, and in the case of long-term programs, such as DMPs, credit scores may be utilized.

Interpretation: Evidence of effectiveness may be established through, for example, pre- and post-testing, or presentation evaluations.
QUICK JUMP TO
Top
 
PURPOSE: Clients who receive Financial Education and Counseling services learn to solve financial problems and gain personal financial management skills.
 
RELATED FILES