Expertise | Information Technology

Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative:
Building a Management Information System for Individual Development Accounts

A notable example of Metis Associates' work in building Web-based database interfaces is the creation and implementation in 2004 of a Web-based computer system called Management Information System Individual Development Account (MIS IDA) for the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. The Initiative is designed to help young people leaving foster care to make a successful transition to adulthood. The Initiative is partnering with 10 demonstration grantees throughout the United States. One of the key components is a matched savings account, or Individual Development Account (IDA) that is opened for each participant and is matched by the Initiative. IDAs are emerging as one of the most promising tools to enable low-income individuals save, build assets, and enter the financial mainstream. Young people transitioning out of foster care are not typically afforded the opportunity to learn money-management skills or gain assets. Through the development and implementation of matched savings accounts, the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative has helped young people learn financial-management skills, become connected to the mainstream banking system, save money, and purchase assets.

The Web-based MIS IDA is a Java application built on a scalable infrastructure. It runs on industry-standard, open-source software packages such as Apache or MySQL and can be run on any platform source. It is designed to handle multiple programs, each assigned its own database, which provides an extra level of security between program administrators and minimizes the risk of disruption. The grantee sites across the country are using the MIS IDA to store, track, and report their Individual Development Account data.