The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking public comment on its consumer financial education programs and how to gauge their effectiveness.
In a request for information issued Wednesday, the CFPB said it is looking for feedback on ways the agency can improve or change its education programs, including what topics to address in such programs and how to utilize government contractors.
The CFPB also is looking at whether it should eliminate certain financial education programs or at least minimize duplication with work performed by other federal, state, and local agencies.
The information request is the 11th issued by the agency since acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney in January launched a review of all aspects of the CFPB to examine the bureau's practices under his Democratic predecessor, Richard Cordray.
The CFPB's current financial education programs focus on information in its web site and print publications about mortgages, credit reporting, student loans, debt collection and bank accounts. The agency also has created guides for buying a house, paying for college and planning for retirement.
The CFPB uses various metrics to gauge the effectiveness of its financial education and also has developed an evidence-based scale to measure financial well-being as an outcome of its programs.
The agency wants feedback on what delivery systems and technology it should use to better disseminate information to the public. The bureau also is looking at how it should measure the success, benefit and return on investment of its financial education programs.
