Saving must begin at childhood. Just as with education, evidence suggests that the earliest interventions can have the greatest impact on life outcomes. Asset ownership has been demonstrated to positively impact children’s development, school achievement, and health and outcomes as adults. Action for Children advocates for asset building policies that can provide children with equal access to opportunities in adulthood and the tools to participate in North Carolina’s economy. Along with state-level work on asset development, Action for Children advocates for asset building legislation on the federal level. Nearly 30 percent of N.C.'s children live in asset poor households.

Assets matter for a family's economic stability and intergenerational mobility. Asset poverty is defined as the lack of sufficient financial resources to remain above the Federal Poverty Level for three months without earned income. Nearly 30 percent of North Carolina’s children live in asset poor households. 

The 2009 North Carolina Local Asset Poverty Index provides data on asset poverty by region for the first time. Variation in asset poverty by region can provide information about the need for greater opportunities to save and build assets in communities across the state.