Financial capability as a pathway to financial well-being among caregivers of children

Caregivers’ financial well-being is vital for ensuring stable, high-quality care for children, but little is known about how financial capability—especially financial literacy and inclusion—supports caregivers. This study examines the associations between financial capability and financial well-being among caregivers, and whether those associations differ by children’s age. Drawing on data from 2,148 U.S. adults (aged 18–74+) in the 2017 National Financial Well-Being Survey who financially support children, we used ordinary least squares regression with cluster-robust standard errors to adjust for geographic clustering. Results show that greater financial capability is significantly associated with higher financial well-being: financial management skills ( β  = .42, p  < .01) and access to retirement accounts ( β  = .09, p  < .01) had especially strong effects, and ownership of checking and savings accounts also contributed positively ( β  = 2.17 to 2.78). Subgroup analyses suggest these effects vary with children’s developmental stage, indicating that caregivers’ financial strengths and challenges depend on the child age profile. For social work research and practice, these findings point to the value of integrating financial capability into family-support interventions: strengthening financial skills and expanding equitable access to safe financial products may bolster caregivers’ economic security and thereby promote child stability.