Summary of Terms

Apprenticeship

A combination of on-the-job training and related instruction in which workers learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled occupation.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/training/apprenticeship.htm

Asset-Building

Strategies that focus on the long-term development of individuals, families, and communities and that promote the increase of financial and tangible assets, such as savings, a home, and businesses of all kinds.
Source: Corporation of Enterprise Development, https://cfed.org/about/asset_building_faq/

At-Risk Youth

Young children and adolescents who are at risk of poor outcomes in areas such as school performance, physical and mental health as they relate to personal development, and successful integration into the economy and society due to family or life circumstances.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Administration for Children and Families, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/synthesis_youth.pdf

Bi-Partisan Missouri Tax Credit Accountability Review Commission

Commission created by Governor Nixon in 2010 with the mission to review each of the State’s 61 tax credit programs and make recommendations for greater efficacy and enhanced return on investment.
Source: State of Missouri Tax Credit Review Commission, https://tcrc.mo.gov/

Career and technical education (CTE)

Term applied to schools, institutions, and educational programs that specialize in skilled trades, applied sciences, modern technologies, and career preparation.
Source: Great Schools Partnership, https://edglossary.org/career-and-technical-education/

Child Tax Credit (CTC)

Enacted in 1997 to help working families offset the cost of raising children; a tax liability for families making less than $130,000 that can be worth up to $1000 per eligible child (under age 17 at the end of the tax year); taxpayers eligible for the credit subtract it from the total amount of federal income taxes that they would otherwise owe.
Source: Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-the-child-tax-credit

Community Development Bank (CD Bank)

A depository institution with a stated mission to primarily benefit the underserved communities in which they are chartered to conduct business. A CD bank pursues this specialized mission by providing financial services to low- and moderate-income individuals or communities or benefiting other areas targeted for redevelopment by local, state, tribal, or federal government.
Source: U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, https://www.occ.gov/topics/community-affairs/resource-directories/cd-bank-and-financial-institution/index-cd-bank-and-financial-institution.html

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program

Program created under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to provide grant funds to local and state governments to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing with a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities to assist low and moderate income residents.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/communitydevelopment/programs

Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)

A certified and specialized financial institution that works in market niches that are underserved by traditional financial institutions to provide a range of financial products and services in economically distressed target markets, such as mortgage financing for low-income and first-time home buyers and not-for-profit developers, flexible underwriting and risk capital for needed community facilities, and technical assistance, commercial loans and investments to small start-up or expanding businesses in low-income areas. CDFIs include regulated institutions such as community development banks and credit unions, and non-regulated institutions such as loan and venture capital funds. Certification for a CDFI is conferred by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s CDFI Fund.
Source: Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, https://www.cdfifund.gov/what_we_do/programs_id.asp?programID=9

Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)

An act passed by Congress in 1977 to encourage depository institutions to meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), https://www.ffiec.gov/cra/

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

A financial regulatory agency established by Congress charged with a) overseeing financial products and services offered to consumers b) writing rules, supervising companies, and enforcing federal consumer financial protection laws; c) restricting unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices; d) taking consumer complains; e) promoting financial education; f) researching consumer behavior; g) monitoring financial markets for new risks to consumers; h) enforcing laws that outlaw discrimination and other unfair treatment in consumer finance.
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, https://www.consumerfinance.gov/the-bureau/

Continuum of Care (CoC) Program

A program designed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to promote a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and affect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/hudprograms/continuumofcare

Disconnected (youth, young men, job seekers)

A large number of people who do not complete high school as well as some with a high school degree as the highest level of education (and many high school graduates) become seriously disconnected from both school and work. The long-term prospects for this population are extremely poor, particularly for young people. The population of disconnected youth is diverse, meaning that a range of different approaches is needed to re-engage this group of young people.
Source: MDRC, https://www.occ.gov/topics/community-affairs/resource-directories/cd-bank-and-financial-institution/index-cd-bank-and-financial-institution.html

Displacement

The process in which any low-income person (family, individual, business, nonprofit organization, or farm) or group of persons moves from real property, or moves his or her personal property from real property, permanently and involuntarily, as a direct result of rehabilitation, demolition, or acquisition for an activity.
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2013-title24-vol1/xml/CFR-2013-title24-vol1-part42.xml, Department of Housing and Urban Development, https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/affordablehousing/training/web/relocation/displaced

Earned income tax credit (EITC)

A refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples. The amount of EITC benefit depends on a recipient’s income and number of children.
Source: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), https://www.irs.gov/Credits-&-Deductions/Individuals/Earned-Income-Tax-Credit/EITC,-Earned-Income-Tax-Credit,-Questions-and-Answers

Empowerment Centers

Organizations and programs that work towards increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those financial choices into desired actions and outcomes that facilitate economic mobility.
Source: World Bank, https://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTEMPOWERMENT/0,,contentMDK:20245753~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:486411,00.html

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)

An act that prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, because an applicant receives income from a public assistance program, or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/housing_ecoa.php

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

An independent agency of the federal government that was created in 1933 in response to thousands of bank failures. The FDIC insures deposits in banks and thrift institutions for at least $250,000, as well as monitors and addresses risks to the deposit insurance funds by supervising more than 4,500 banks and savings banks for operational safety and soundness. Banks can be chartered by state or the federal government to join the FDIC system.
Source: FDIC, https://www.fdic.gov/about/learn/symbol/index.html

Gainful Employment

An employment situation where the employee receives consistent work and payment from the employer.
Source: Law Dictionary, https://thelawdictionary.org/gainful-employment/

High-Skilled Jobs (employees)

A job that requires special skills, training, and knowledge that are often attained through accumulated work experience or education in a college, university, or technical school.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/trends/trendsVII.htm

Human Capital Development

The development of the collective skills, knowledge, or other intangible assets of individuals that can be used to create economic value for the individuals, their employers, or their community.
Source: Government Accountability Office, https://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/cg00014g.pdf and Dictionary.com

Individual Development Account (IDA)

A savings account and asset building tool designed to enable low- and moderate-income families save towards a targeted amount usually used for building assets in the form of home ownership, post-secondary education, and small business ownership. For every dollar saved in an IDA, savers receive a corresponding match.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/trends/trendsVII.htm

Labor Force Attachment

Concept related to a person’s proximity to the labor force, which covers a spectrum from fully attached workers (e.g. those in employment) at one extreme, to those who are discouraged and marginally attached, and ultimately to those who do not want a job at the other extreme (e.g. economically inactive retired people, etc.). Discouraged workers are considered to be marginally attached to the labor force, and are not currently looking for work for one of the following reasons, they: 1) believe that no job is available to them in their line of work or area; 2) had previously been unable to find work; 3) lack the necessary schooling, training, skills, or experience; 4) Employers think they are too young or too old; 5) face some other type of discrimination.
Source: Canadian Career Development Foundation, https://www.ccdf.ca/ccdf/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Supplement-3-Labour-Market-Attachement.pdf; US Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#data

Low and moderate income (LMI) communities

Low-income: individuals and geographies having a median family income less than 50% of the area median income. Moderate income: individuals and geographies having a median family income of at least 50% and less than 80% of the area median income. The CRA is intended to support community development in LMIs.
Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): https://www2.fdic.gov/crapes/peterms.asp

Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)

HUD program created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that gives state and local LIHTC-allocating agencies the equivalent of nearly $8 billion in annual budget authority to issue tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction of rental housing targeted to low-income households; aims to encourage the investment of private equity in the development of affordable rental housing for low-income households.
Source: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC): https://www.occ.gov/topics/community-affairs/publications/insights/insights-low-income-housing-tax-credits.pdf

Low-Skilled Employees (jobs; labor)

A worker who has not acquired the special skills, training, and knowledge that are often attained through accumulated work experience or education in a college, university, or technical school.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/trends/trendsVII.htm

Middle-Market Neighborhood

A neighborhood in which there is income diversity as a result of: a) gentrification – the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in a district’s character and culture, or b) housing policies that encourage deconcentration of poverty, including public housing developments, HOPE VI, or tenant-based housing vouchers.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), https://www.huduser.org/publications/pdf/brd/09khadduri.pdf

Missouri Housing Trust Fund

Created by the state legislature in 1994, the Missouri Housing Trust provides funding for a variety of housing needs such as homeless prevention, rehabilitation or construction of rental housing, rental assistance, and home repair.
Source: Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC), https://www.mhdc.com/housing_trust_fund/MHTF-info.htm

Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP)

Program managed by Missouri’s Department of Economic Development (DED) to provide assistance to community-based organizations to enable them to implement community or neighborhood projects in the areas of community service, education, crime prevention, job training, and physical revitalization.
Source: Missouri’s Department of Economic Development (DED), https://www.ded.mo.gov/BCS%20Programs/BCSProgramDetails.aspx?BCSProgramID=58

Predatory Lending

Any lending practice that imposes unfair or abusive loan terms on a borrower; it is also any practice that convinces a borrower to accept unfair terms through coercive, or exploitative actions for a loan that a borrower does not need, does not want, or cannot afford. Predatory lending benefits the lender, not the borrower, and ignores or hinders the borrower’s ability to repay the debt.
Source: Debt.org, https://www.debt.org/credit/predatory-lending/

Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP)

Plan that is annually released by the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) that details the selection criteria and applicant requirements for housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds.
Source: MHDC, https://www.mhdc.com/rental_production/2016_fy_items/documents/FY2016_QAP.pdf

Second Chance Checking Account

An account for those who have had credit or account management problems in the past that have prohibited them from opening an account with a bank or credit union.
Source: St. Louis Community Credit Union, https://www.stlouiscommunity.com/financial-solutions/second-chance-checking

Section 3 Hiring Program

Section 3 of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Act of 1968 states that wherever HUD financial assistance is expended for housing and community development, to the greatest extent feasible, economic opportunities will be given to businesses and residents in the area. Section 3 residents are: public housing residents; low- and very-low income persons who live in the metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan area where a HUD-assisted project for housing or community development is located. Low income is defined as 80 percent or below the median income of that area; very-low income is defined as 50 percent or below the median income of that area. Types of opportunities include: job training, employment, and contracts.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/section3/section3brochure

Section 8 Housing

The federal government’s housing choice voucher program that a local public housing authority administers through an application process that selects low-income families, elderly, and the disabled for housing assistance. A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family’s choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program.
Source: HUD, https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8

Soft Skills Training

Training that enhances workforce readiness skills in communication, enthusiasm and attitude management, teamwork, networking, problem solving and critical thinking, and professionalism.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/

Source of Income

All wages and any other compensation for services performed in a given location.
Source: Internal Revenue Service, https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Source-of-Income—Personal-Service-Income

Subsidized Employment Program

A program that provides jobs to people who cannot find employment in the regular labor market and use public funds, such as TANF subsidies, to pay for all or some of their wages.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/subsidizing-employment-opportunities-for-low-income-families-a-review-of

Talent Development Initiatives

Initiatives that address competency gap, particularly in mission-critical occupations, by implementing and maintaining programs to attract, acquire, develop, promote, and retain quality talent.
Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/human-capital-management/talent-management/

Tax Credit for Contribution Program

Program that the Missouri Development Finance Board grants tax credits equal to 50 percent on the value of any eligible contribution to the Board by any taxpayer. To be eligible for the credit, the contribution must be made to one of the three funds established by the Board’s statutes: the Industrial Development and Reserve Fund, the Infrastructure Development Fund, and Export Finance Fund.
Source: State of Missouri Development Finance Board, https://www.mdfb.org/Programs/TaxCredit_Contribution.html

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Program that provides temporary financial assistance for pregnant women and families with one or more dependent. States receive block grants to design and operate programs that accomplish the purposes of the TANF program: a) to provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their homes; b) to reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; c) to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; d) to encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/programs/tanf/about; https://www.tanf.us/

Transitional Jobs

Work that allows an employee with temporary restrictions to work in a modified, alternative, or reduced-hour capacity, for a defined period of time, while recuperating from illness or injury.
Source: University of California – San Francisco, https://ucsfhr.ucsf.edu/index.php/pubs/article/transitional-work/

Underemployed Workers

People who do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks, and are currently available for work.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#unemployed

Wage Support Programs

A program that provides jobs to people who cannot find employment in the regular labor market and use public funds, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) subsidies, to pay for all or some of their wages. See also: “subsidized employment.”
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/subsidizing-employment-opportunities-for-low-income-families-a-review-of