2005 Idaho Code - 56-1102 — LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS

                                  TITLE  56
                        PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND WELFARE
                                  CHAPTER 11
                    IDAHO FAMILY ASSET BUILDING INITIATIVE
    56-1102.  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that:
    (1)  The problem of poverty will not be solved solely by government
programs and income subsidies.
    (2)  It is in the best interest of all Idahoans to structure incentives in
a way that will result in a greater likelihood that low-income and
working-poor individuals will attain self-sufficiency.
    (3)  It is in the best interest of all Idahoans to encourage low-income
individuals, neighborhoods and communities to benefit from the developments
achieved through the growth in assets and investments.
    (4)  Achieving self-sufficiency and assessing economic opportunity for
low-income and working-poor individuals can be addressed through public policy
that invests in asset accumulation and is supported by private sector
philanthropy.
    (5)  Providing a structured savings situation for low-income and
working-poor individuals enhances their chances of fulfilling major life goals
and opportunities and incorporates them into the economic mainstream.
    (6)  The state has an opportunity to take advantage of private and public
resources by making the transition to an asset-based antipoverty strategy.
Those resources include, but are not limited to, the assets for independence
act (42 U.S.C. section 604) and the workforce investment act (P.L. 105-220).
    (7)  Investment through an individual development account program will
help lower-income households obtain the assets they need to succeed.
Communities and this state will experience resultant economic and social
benefits accruing from the promotion of job training and higher education,
home ownership and small business development.
    (8)  It is desirable for this state to enact legislation that enables an
authorized fiduciary organization sufficient flexibility to receive private,
state and federal moneys for individual development accounts. The legislature
should periodically review the provisions of this chapter to ensure that this
state maximizes the receipt of available federal moneys for individual
development accounts.