New Report: Connecting Free Tax Preparation and Asset Building

Posted by on February 2, 2009

Connecting Free Tax Preparation and Asset Building: Cuyahoga EITC Coalition client study

The Cuyahoga EITC Coalition commissioned Policy Matters Ohio to study two dimensions of asset building for clients: a) the readiness of clients to engage in products and services offered by Coalition sites and partners and b) the design of specific products and services. Policy Matters used both quantitative and qualitative data approaches to gain a broad and deep understanding of clients. For quantitative data, Policy Matters surveyed more than 1,500 free tax clients about financial issues. To get a deeper understanding of these issues, Policy Matters conducted two focus groups with current EITC Coalition clients. The focus groups allowed for a level of detail and probing of thoughts and concerns that the surveys could not provide. This report is based primarily on an analysis of results of the focus group sessions; focus group findings are supplemented with data from the quantitative survey.

http://www.policymattersohio.org/pdf/FreeTaxPrep2009_0120.pdf