Treasurer Garrity Visits Adagio Health to Promote Partnership and Keystone Scholars Program

Treasurer Garrity Visits Adagio Health to Promote Partnership and Keystone Scholars Program

Regional health and wellness provider encourages parents of newborns to start saving for their baby’s future, register Keystone Scholars accounts

Kittanning, PA - Treasurer Stacy Garrity today toured the Adagio Health Armstrong WIC Center to promote Treasury’s Keystone Scholars Program, which kickstarts every baby’s education savings with $100.

“We know that child development accounts like Keystone Scholars can really make a difference for children and their ability to reach their goals. Kids with even a modest amount of savings set aside for college are three times as likely to enroll in higher education, and four times as likely to graduate. Participating in Keystone Scholars can have a big impact,” said Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity.

“We are proud to work with our partners in Pennsylvania’s Department of Health, Treasurer Garrity, and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation to benefit families who are enrolled or who are considering enrolling in our Adagio Health WIC program. WIC is designed to support pregnant women and parents of young children so that they can make healthy choices for their families. The WIC-Keystone Scholars Milestones Program gives us another avenue to help families plan for their children’s future,” said BJ Leber, President and CEO of Adagio Health.

Every child born to a Pennsylvania family on or after January 1, 2019, is eligible for the $100 starter deposit, including children who are adopted. Families are encouraged to open their own PA 529 College and Career Savings Program account to continue saving for their child’s future. Keystone Scholars and PA 529 accounts can be used for qualified higher education expenses, including tuition, fees, computers, required equipment, books and more at vocational or technical schools, qualified apprenticeship programs, community colleges, and four-year colleges or universities in Pennsylvania or even across the country.

Adagio Health, in partnership with Treasury, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation, developed the WIC-Keystone Scholars Milestone Program, which provides additional targeted deposits into the Keystone Scholars accounts of children born in 2021 to mothers enrolled in WIC through Adagio Health. Adagio’s service area includes Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Indiana, and Lawrence counties. Children who remain in Adagio Health’s WIC program until their fifth birthday would receive a total of $525 for future postsecondary education costs.

“I’m proud of Treasury’s partnership with Adagio Health which provides even more funding through the WIC-Keystone Scholars Milestone Program across Adagio’s service area. It’s never too soon to prepare for the future, and this is a fantastic way to begin," said Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity.

Keystone Scholars accounts can be activated online and linked to PA 529 accounts for easy access. Since the program started, nearly 340,000 Keystone Scholars accounts have been created and more than 34,000 families have registered their child’s Keystone Scholars account. Nearly 21% of those who have activated Keystone Scholars accounts have opened their own PA 529 account to continue saving. So far, these families have saved nearly $23 million.

Pennsylvania was the first state to legislate a universal, automatic, at-birth child development account program. No taxpayer dollars are used for Keystone Scholars, which is funded by surplus funds from the PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan.

To learn more about Keystone Scholars or to activate your child’s account visit pa529.com/keystone.
The full release can also be found on Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity's website.