| The Missouri Women's Council released a new report on November 13, 2002, that identifies the level of income necessary for varying compositions of Missouri families throughout the state to adequately meet their basic needs. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Missouri was issued by the Friends of the Missouri Women's Council and Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW). The report, written by Dr. Diana Pearce of the University of Washington's Center for Women's Welfare, details the costs for families to make ends meet, without any public or private supports, in each county of Missouri. It was prepared for the Missouri Women's Council with a grant from the Ford Foundation. "Today, Missouri joins policymakers, advocates and service providers in 28 other states and Washington, D.C. in using the Self-Sufficiency Standard to take a crucial step toward ensuring that low-income families are getting on the path to self-sufficiency," said Cheryl Grazier, Executive Director of the Missouri Women's Council. "We plan to use this report to inform government, businesses and the general public about the true costs working families face across the state and to help design public policy that makes sense for all of Missouri's families." The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Missouri charts the actual costs of living and working in the state. It measures how much income a family needs to pay for housing, food, childcare, healthcare, transportation and taxes-if they do not receive any help from relatives, friends or the government-based on the ages, as well as number, of children in each household, and the family's geographic location. The report also measures the impact of subsidies from employers and government agencies on families' incomes. | |
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