Transcript Pennsylvania Self-Sufficiency Standard Training Presented

Setting the Standard for
America’s Working Families
The Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project
and the Self-Sufficiency Standard
Presented by:
Joan A. Kuriansky, Executive Director
Wider Opportunities for Women, Inc., Washington, DC
1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 930, Washington, DC 20036
Today’s Presentation
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Wider Opportunities for Women
Background on the Family
Economic Self-Sufficiency (FESS)
Project
What the Self-Sufficiency Standard
Is and How It Is Calculated
How the Standard Has Been Used
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Why WOW Launched the FESS
Project
Our Challenge:
 How to measure the circumstances and obstacles facing
low- income families trying to become economically
secure?
 How to develop programs and policies that increase
opportunities for low-income families that move families
toward economic self-sufficiency
 How to affect the public and policy makers about the
needs of these families?
 How to mobilize a community to act with and on behalf of
these families?
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The Family Economic SelfSufficiency Project
The Six Strategies for Self-Sufficiency:
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Targeting high wage jobs
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Promoting NTO for women
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Micro credit
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IDA
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Functional Literacy
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Self-Sufficiency Standard
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The Family Economic SelfSufficiency Project
Who we are today:
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36 State partners with state wide
coalitions representing over 2,000
community based organizations, state
and local government, employers and
labor.
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What is the Self-Sufficiency
Standard?
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Amount of income required to meet basic needs
(including taxes) in the regular “market place”
w/o public subsidies or private/informal
subsidies
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Public subsidies = Food Stamps, Medicaid,
subsidized child care, etc.
Private subsidies = free baby-sitting by a relative,
food provided by churches or food banks, shared
housing, etc.
Lead Researcher: Dr. Diana Pearce, University of Washington
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How is the Standard Different from the FPL
The FPL is based on 2-parent family model
assumes only 1 parent works in 2-parent
families & no workers in single-parent families.
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The Standard assumes that all adults work full-time—
includes costs of working, i.e., transportation & taxes, &
for families with young children, child care.
The FPL is based on the cost of food and assumes that
food is 1/3 of the family budget.
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The Standard is calculated differently—based on costs
of all basic needs, updated annually, allowing costs to
increase at different rates.
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How the Standard & poverty
measure are different
The FPL only distinguish by family size and
number of children
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The Standard varies costs by the age of children—
especially important for child care, but food and
medical care costs also vary by age.
The FPL assumes costs are the same, no matter
where you live
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The Standard varies by geographical location—most
important for housing, but also geographic variation in
costs of child care, health care & transportation.
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Assumptions
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All Adults work full time
No family members with special needs
No frills budget
No one time purchases ( furniture, car,
appliances)
No savings
No loan payments
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7 Basic Categories of
Expenditures
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Housing: Fair Market Rents set by HUD, including
basic utilities
Food: USDA Low-Cost Food Plan
Child Care: State Child Care Market Rate Survey
Transportation: Public Transportation or Costs of
owning and operating an average car (Natl. Assoc. of
Insurance Commiss. on Consumer Expenditures)
Health Care: Average employee premiums and out of
pocket costs for employer-sponsored insurance
Miscellaneous: 10% of all other costs
Taxes: Federal income and payroll taxes, state and
local sales taxes minus low-income tax credits.
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The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Los
Angeles, CA 2003
One Adult, One
Preschooler, One
Schoolage
One Adult, One
Preschooler
One Adult
Two Adults, One
Preschooler, One
Schoolage
Monthly Costs
Housing
$807
$1,021
$1,021
$1,021
$0
$672
$1,056
$1,056
Food
$182
$276
$411
$565
Transportation
$242
$248
$248
$475
$72
$219
$238
$276
Miscellaneous
$130
$244
$297
$339
Taxes
$295
$462
$534
$583
Earned Income Tax Credit (-)
$0
$0
$0
$0
Child Care Tax Credit (-)
$0
-$60
-$105
-$100
Child Tax Credit (-)
$0
-$83
-$167
-$167
$9.83
$17.03
$20.07
$11.50 per adult
Monthly
$1,729
$2,998
$3,533
$4,049
Annual
$20,751
$35,977
$42,392
$48,590
Child Care
Health Care
Self-Sufficiency Wage-Hourly
Percentage of Income Needed to Meet Basic Needs, 2002
Maricopa County Arizona – one parent, one preschooler, one
school age
M i s c e l l a n e o us
8%
Housing
24%
T a x e s - N e t*
13%
T r a n s p o r tation
8%
Child Care
26%
Health Care
9%
Food
12%
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The Standard Compared to Other Benchmarks,
2002 (Tucson, AZ - one parent, one preschooler,
one school age child)
$44,300
$45,000
$34,159
$40,000
$35,000
$30,000
50%
$25,000
$18,432
$15,020
$20,000
$15,000
$13,898
$8,436
$10,000
$5,000
$Welfare and Food Federal Poverty
Stamps*
Line
Full-Time
Minimum
Wage***
Tucson Living
Wage**
Self-Sufficiency
Wage
Median Family
Income
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The Standard Helps Us
Understand
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It is not about bad budgeting
It is not just about the poor- a large part of the
population falls in the gap
There is little or no cushion when things go wrong
To get by month to month, families often have to
make hard choices
Run up credit bills or take out usurious loans;
forsake needed medical care or obtain free food
Many families don’t get by
Foreclosure, family stress, substance abuse,
domestic abuse
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The Impact of Work Support
Impact of Subsidies on M onthly Costs, Single Parent w/ One Infant & One Preschool-age
Child, Contra Costa County, CA (Oakland PM SA), 2000
SUBSIDIES
#1
#2
#3
#4
Self-Sufficiency
Standard
Child
Support
Child Care &
Health Care
[Medi-Cal]
Housing, Child Care,
Food Stamps & Health
Care [Healthy Families]
$921
$921
$921
$315
$1,496
$1,496
$0
$0
Food
$325
$325
$325
$200
Transportation
$49
$49
$49
$49
Health Care
$288
$288
$0
$104
Miscellaneous
$308
$308
$308
$308
Taxes
$818
$686
$205
$67
Child Care Tax Credit (-)
-$80
-$80
$0
$0
Child Tax Credit (-)
-$83
-$83
-$74
$0
$0
-$309
$0
$0
$4,041
$3,600
$1,734
$1,043
$0
$0
$2,179
$3,888
M onthly Costs:
Housing
Child Care
Child Support
Monthly Self-Sufficiency
Wage
Total Federal EITC
(annual)
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“Coming Up Short”
National Snapshot of Impact of
Wages and Work Supports
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Minimum wage covers only 34% of costs on
average.
Subsidized childcare makes a significant
difference (can reduce cost by as much as 35%)
At $12/hour a family meets only 72% of its costs
on average.
Key is the interaction between state and federal
policy.
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“Overlooked and Undercounted”
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Report shows how California families are faring in
relation to the Standard
- 1/5 of SF Bay Area below SSS; 1/3 rd in L.A.
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Shows not just who is below the Standard, but what
their characteristics are
- more than 1/2 Latino households
- more than 1 out of 4 households with one full time
worker can’t meet basic needs
- 78% households with 4 or more children are likely to
live below self sufficiency
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Broadens discussion about whether which policies and
programs are working w/ info on who is “making it” and
who is not
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How the Standard Has Been
Used
To affect policy changes:
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Assess impact of different work support
policies
Establish co-payment schedules for
childcare assistance
Evaluate tax reform policies, sales tax vs
change in municipal a income state tax
Establish living wage ordinances
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How the Standard Has Been
Used?
To affect change in workforce policy:
 WOW and NAWB survey-more than 30% of
Local WIB’s used self sufficiency measure like
WOW’s to affect policy
 Expand eligibility for intensive and training
services
 Assess segments of job seekers who are being
served
 Direct training money
 Goal in economic development/sector projects
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How the Standard Has Been Used?
To assess program effectiveness:
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VA Joint Legislative Audit and Review
Commission (JLARC) used VA Standard to
assess economic outcomes for DSS clients
To assist individuals and their caseworkers
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NYC Head Start and welfare offices
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Seattle One Stop counselors
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Philadelphia Office of Aging
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The Budget Worksheet and SelfSufficiency Calculators
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PA piloted The Self-Sufficiency Standard
Budget Worksheet and now there are online
Self-Sufficiency Calculators in NYC, IL, and
WA
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Starts w/ the Self-Sufficiency Standard
Lets individual plug in real costs &
subsidies
Tests various wages ability to cover costs
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How the Standard Has Been
Used
To affect Public debate:
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Miami Prosperity Campaign
Wyoming Family and Children Initiative
The Bay Area “Bottom Line Report”
State legislation to institutionalize standard
Federal legislation
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Moving Forward:
Public Policies to Promote Self-Sufficiency
-Renew investment in job skills training aimed at good
paying jobs
-Expand access to higher education
-Economic development strategies targeted to quality
jobs
-Increase minimum wage
-Expand of public or subsidized health insurance
-Streamline application process for public benefits
-Tax relief for low-income working families
-Stronger regulation of high-cost financial services
-Subsidized saving programs
-Family leave benefits/unemployment insurance
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How You Can Be Involved …
Contact:
Wider Opportunities for Women
1001 Connecticut Ave, NW Suite 930
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 464-1596
www.SixStrategies.org
Kate Farrar, FESS Program Associate
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