Freddie Mac Foundation Funds Study, Report on Self-Sufficiency

September 14, 2005 – A new study sponsored by the Freddie Mac Foundation and released by Wider Opportunities for Women finds that the combined impact of housing proces and escalating health and child care costs are making it more and more difficult for families in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area to make ends meet. The study and resulting report also provide the blueprint for transitioning families to self-sufficiency.

“The Self-Sufficiency Standard for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area 2005,” computes the income necessary for 70 family sizes and compositions in Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County. Written by University of Washington researcher Dr. Diana Pearce, the report finds that most families in the Metropolitan area need to earn three to four times the federal poverty level to meet basic needs like housing, child care, health care, food, transportation and taxes. For a family of three in Washington, D.C. – one parent with a preschooler and a school-age child – that income is $47,213. In Prince George’s County, it is $46,526 and in Fairfax County – the most expensive jurisdiction in the report – it is $61,586.

Since 1999, when WOW issued its previous Self-Sufficiency Standard for the District, D.C. housing costs have risen 18 to 21 percent, child care costs have increased 20 to 38 percent and health care costs for single parent families with one preschooler rose 70 percent. At the same time, the Washington area economy has expanded significantly.

“This report explains in real dollars why so many people are struggling to get by despite the growing economy in the D.C. metro area,” said WOW Executive Director Joan Kuriansky. “We need to do much more to help families meet important needs like child care and health care, and help workers get on the ladder to self-sufficiency.”

“The Self-Sufficiency Standard for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area 2005” also examines growth occupations in the D.C. Metropolitan area and compares them with the Standard. It finds that of the 15 greatest projected growth occupations between 2000 and 2010, six would not provide self-sufficiency wages. Growth occupations that would pay such wages, tended to be in information technology fields, underscoring the need to educate and train low-income workers.

“This report provides us with a blueprint for helping D.C. residents share in the region's extraordinary economic growth,” said District of Columbia City Administrator Robert Bobb. “We need to target good jobs and find ways to move people into those jobs, so they can participate in and contribute to our growing economy.”

“We know that the best paying jobs are the highest skilled jobs,” said Allen Lomax, Economic Opportunities Commission Chair for the City of Alexandria. “Education and training are crucial to helping people get those jobs. We also need to look at what we can do to support low-income workers while they get that training, so that their families don’t have to choose between utility bills, grocery bills and medical bills.”

“Helping children and families succeed is at the heart of our Foundation’s work. That’s why we funded WOW’s Self-Sufficiency Standard. This outstanding tool will provide critical insights into what families need to survive and thrive in this region,” explained Cheryl Clarke, director of
Foundation Giving, Freddie Mac Foundation. Freddie Mac Foundation funded the development and publication of “The Self-Sufficiency Standard for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area 2005.”

Established in 1964, WOW promotes economic independence and equality for girls, women and their families. WOW leads the Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project – a national project that uses the Standard to support and implement strategies that move families toward economic independence. Today, the FESS Project is located in 35 states and the District of Columbia and includes more than 2,000 community-based organizations.