PressStatementofDianaPearce-MontgomeryCountyMaryland.pdfVIP

THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARD FOR MARYLAND 2016 P r e s s S t a t e m e n t o f D i a n a P e a r c e FOR RELEASE: DECEMBER 7, 2016 Press Statement of Dr. Diana Pearce, PhD Author, The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Maryland 2016 Director, Center for Women’s Welfare, and Senior Lecturer, University of Washington School of Social Work The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Maryland Today we are releasing The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Maryland 2016. Previous editions of the Maryland Self-Sufficiency Standard were released in 2001, 2007, and 2012. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Maryland 2016 tells us the real cost of living, the minimum Maryland families need to meet their basic needs, without public or private subsidies. This press statement briefly describes how the Self-Sufficiency Standard is calculated, how it differs from the federal poverty measure, and key findings for Maryland. More detail on all of these topics can be found in the report itself, available at /maryland and . Highlights of this report:  Costs are Rising Faster than Wages: The amount needed to meet the costs of basic needs increased between 2001 and 2016 in all Maryland counties, despite the Great Recession. For a single adult family with two children (a preschooler and a school-ager), the Standard increased on average by 66%, ranging from 42% to 90% across the state. In contrast, statewide, median wages only increased 40%, only about three-fifths of the increase in basic living costs.  The Poverty Line is Too Low: The Standard for a three-person family (one adult, one preschooler, and one school-age child) in Baltimore City ($53,258 annually) is over 2.5 times the Federal Poverty Level for three-person families ($20,160 annually), illustrating how inadequate the federal poverty measure is at assessing income adequacy.