Session: From Problem to Response: Financial Vulnerability, Financial Capability, and Social Work Practice In Contemporary China (Society for Social Work and Research 31st Annual Conference)

Chinese households are increasingly exposed to financial risks transferred from the state through market and financial mechanisms, yet the financial conditions of vulnerable populations and effective social work responses remain insufficiently understood. This symposium brings together three papers that move from problem documentation, to intervention evidence, to structural theoretical explanation, offering a comprehensive examination of financial vulnerability and financial capability in contemporary China.

The first paper documents the micro-financial conditions of families raising children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in China. Using the financial diary method to track daily income and expenditures over 12 consecutive months across 33 ASD families in four provinces, the study reveals pronounced multidimensional financial vulnerability: one-third of families have no savings, 50% experience monthly deficits, 80% of mothers are excluded from paid employment, and long-term financial planning capacity is severely limited. The findings demonstrate that income support alone is insufficient and that integrated asset-building interventions are urgently needed for this population.

The second paper evaluates the Star Sea AI Academy, an AI-enhanced financial literacy curriculum delivered to adolescents across China, using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design. While both AI-empowered and traditional instructional approaches significantly improve financial literacy, the two produce distinct competency profiles: traditional instruction generates larger gains in foundational literacy, while AI-enhanced instruction uniquely builds higher-order applied financial capabilities. The findings suggest AI tools serve as a complement to, rather than replacement for, evidence-based financial education, with important implications for equitable access and curriculum design.

The third paper provides the structural theoretical framework that explains why financial vulnerability persists despite individual and programmatic responses. Through conceptual and mechanism-building analysis, the paper demonstrates that financialized risk transfer in China generates cumulative stratification through differential household capacity to absorb risks, with financial capability functioning as a key mediating mechanism linking structural conditions to unequal developmental outcomes. The paper argues that social work must move beyond adaptation-oriented responses toward structurally informed interventions that address the institutional roots of household financial hardship.

Together, these papers advance a structurally grounded social work agenda on financial vulnerability and capability in China, with implications for integrated financial capability services, asset-building policy, and the future of AI-enhanced financial education for vulnerable populations.