On January 8th, a major initiative to add Financial Social Work to Social Work education in China was made at the National Forum of China’s Financial Social Work Commission. According to the proposals, training in financial capability would become a component of general social work education in mainland China. This would cover over 1.5 million professional practitioners and future students in the social work area. In this movement, Brown School is playing a leading role.
In 2020, the China Association of Social Work Education created the Financial Social Work Commission to serve as a hub for research, curricula, and educational programs on those subjects. Educators in China are drawing upon, and adapting, the work of the Center for Social Development (CSD) and other international partners to meet the need for educational content in this area.
The January 8 forum featured a keynote address by CSD Founding Director Michael Sherraden, research presentations by CSD experts Jin Huang, Deng Suo, and Minchao Jin, and an address by Margaret Sherraden as part of a panel on the forthcoming translation of Financial Capability and Asset Building With Vulnerable Populations, the textbook she coauthored with Faculty Director Julie Birkenmaier and J. Michael Collins.