Massachusetts Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard
Click here to view the current FESS reports!
The
Massachusetts Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard (MassFESS)
illustrates what it really takes for a family to make ends meet in
Massachusetts. FESS calculates a basic budget of costs, including
housing, childcare, healthcare, food, transportation, and taxes. It
shows what constitutes an adequate income and how this varies across
family types and locations. The 2006 figures show that a single mother
with two children in Boston needs $58,000+ to make ends meet. The first
FESS report was released in 1998 and updated in 2003.
As many people leave welfare and enter the labor market, they join a
growing number of families who are unable to stretch their wages to
meet the costs of basic necessities. Even though many of these families
are not considered "poor" according to the official federal poverty
measure, their incomes may be woefully inadequate. But what is adequate
income, and how does it vary across varying family types and geographic
locations The Self-Sufficiency Standard answers that question.
In 1998, the first Self-Sufficiency Standard for Massachusetts was released. The Self-Sufficiency Standard measures how much income is needed for a specific family type in a given location in the Commonwealth to adequately meet its basic needs—without public or private assistance.
Significant increases in costs over the years led to a need for updates of the Standard that is consistent in the assumptions made and as objective as possible. Many policies are based on Federal Poverty Level as a means of determining if a family is "poor." However, that poverty measure has become increasingly problematic as a measure of income adequacy.
In fact, the Census Bureau itself states, "the official poverty measure should be interpreted as a statistical yardstick rather than a complete description of what people and families need to live." The most significant shortcoming of the Federal Poverty Level is that it is "one size fits all" measure anywhere in the country (currently the guideline stands at $20,650 a year for a family of four, nowhere close to covering costs anywhere in Massachusetts.)
While many families earn incomes above the federal poverty line, they nevertheless come no where close to adequately meeting their basic needs. A number of studies have shown that the public would set a minimum income 25-50% above the federal poverty standard, depending upon the family's composition and where the family lives. However, the official poverty measure has additional problems inherent in its structure. Simply raising the poverty line, or using a multiple of the threshold cannot solve these problems.
Solving the complex problem of poverty
requires government, business, nonprofits and academia to join together
to find common solutions. FESS provides a measurable tool that can be
used to create, implement and evaluate sound educational and workforce
development policies, thereby reshaping public policy.
Ruthie Liberman
Vice President for Public Policy
Crittenton Women's Union
