New Report: 1 Million Families In Illinois Don't Earn Enough to Make Ends Meet on...

New Report: 1 Million Families In Illinois Don't Earn Enough to Make Ends Meet
on Their Own

Updated "Self-Sufficiency Standard" Illustrates What Families Need to Get By

CHICAGO, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Economic troubles are far from
over for working families in Illinois, as 1 million households (which does not
include households headed by seniors), don't earn enough to make ends meet
without public or private support, according to a new report released today
by the Social IMPACT Research Center (IMPACT), a program of Heartland
Alliance. The report, Getting By & Getting Ahead, defines The Self-Sufficiency
Standard for Illinois as a measure of the income families need to pay for
their basic necessities on their own.

For the first time since 2001, Illinois' Self-Sufficiency Standard has been
completely updated offering a fresh look at the income Illinois families need
to make ends meet.

The 2009 Illinois Self-Sufficiency Standard is calculated for 152 family types
in 108 geographies, mostly counties, in Illinois. It reports real local costs
for basic necessities such as housing, food, transportation, health care,
child care, taxes, and miscellaneous items such as diapers, clothing, and
household items. This makes the Standard one of the most geographically and
family composition specific tools of its kind. The 2009 Illinois
Self-Sufficiency Standard was calculated by the University of Washington's
Center for Women's Welfare.

In Illinois a three-person family (parent, a preschooler, and a school-age
child) requires an annual income of $49,030 to pay for their most basic needs
independently - nearly three times the federal poverty standard of $18,310 -
the report found. The report notes that the updated Standard is a more
realistic measure of what families need to get by than the Federal Poverty
Level, designed more than four decades ago. And in stark contrast to the
Self-Sufficiency Wage for most family types anywhere in the state, Illinois'
minimum wage of $8.00 falls far short of what families need.

The Standard varies greatly across the state as the cost of meeting basic
needs is higher in major metropolitan areas. A single parent with a
preschooler and school-age child living in DuPage County must make more than
$29 per hour (nearly $62,000 annually) to make ends meet. The same family in
Edgar County would need an hourly wage of $12.78 ($26,986 annually) to get by.
Visit www.ilselfsufficiency.org to download Self-Sufficiency fact sheets for
each county in Illinois.

"Holding a job -- even full-time, year-round job - is no longer a guarantee
you'll be able to make ends meet," said Amy Rynell, Director of IMPACT. "The
Self-Sufficiency Standard is a critical tool to document what wages are needed
to truly support a family's most basic needs. The fact that more than a
million Illinois families fall short of the Standard signals a need for
renewed investments in building a skilled workforce, providing opportunities
for long-term, good-paying jobs and careers, improving access to
government-based income support programs, and providing opportunities to build
assets so families can both get by and get ahead."

The Self-Sufficiency Standard is a useful tool for advocates, business
leaders, policymakers, and service providers trying to help move families from
crisis to stability and on to success. Along with the report's release, the
Social IMPACT Research Center has launched the Illinois Self-Sufficiency
Standard Project, a comprehensive guide to utilizing the Standard including
local fact sheets tailored to self-sufficiency in each county, policy briefs
and an online calculator (launching later this fall). Visit
www.ilselfsufficiency.org

The Self-Sufficiency Standard was developed by Dr. Diana Pearce while she was
the Director of the Women and Poverty Project at Wider Opportunities for Women
(WOW). WOW established the national Family Economic Self-Sufficiency (FESS)
Project in 1996. Through a partnership between WOW and the Center for Women's
Welfare at the University of Washington, the Self-Sufficiency Standard has now
been calculated in 37 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia.

The Social Impact Research Center (IMPACT), formerly the Mid-America Institute
on Poverty at Heartland Alliance provides dynamic research and analysis on
today's most pressing social issues and solutions to inform and equip those
working toward a just global society. As such, IMPACT conducts research to
increase the depth of understanding and profile of social issues and
solutions; develops recommendations and action steps; communicates findings
using media, briefings, and web strategies to influence a broad base of
decision makers; and Impacts social policy and program decisions to improve
the quality of life for poor and low-income individuals.

For more information: 773.336.6075, research@heartlandalliance.org
www.heartlandalliance.org/research

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights helps people who are
threatened the most by poverty or danger, improve their lives and realize
their human rights. For more than 100 years we have been providing
solutions--both through services and advocacy-- creating paths from crisis to
stability and on to success. Our work in housing, health care, legal
protections, and economic security supports more than 200,000 people annually,
helping them build a better future.

SOURCE Social IMPACT Research Center

Thaisa Gee, Valerie Denney Communications, Ph: +1-312-408-2580 x 14, Cell:
+1-202-431-1250, tgee@valeriedenney.com; or Amy Terpstra, Social IMPACT
Research Center, Ph: +1-312-870-4946, aterpstra@heartlandalliance.org