Financial personal credit is a key resource for families to gain access to resources and assets. Social work practitioners benefit from awareness of the importance of credit, a basic understanding of credit, and familiarity with critical contemporary debates regarding credit. Use of credit-building products and use of alternative and behavioral data for credit scoring are two contemporary debates that frame credit-building work. Although both hold promise as helpful, more evidence of their effectiveness is needed. Practitioners can explore credit issues with clients and familiarize themselves with accessible credit-building resources. Caution may be warranted in promoting products. Practitioners can monitor the effects on clients of alternative and behavioral data in credit scoring for policy advocacy purposes.

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