The Consequences of Insufficient Household Income

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CONCLUSION: SUMMARY ALICE households live in every town and county throughout the states included in the United Way ALICE Project. The research shows that ALICE households are made up of men and women of all races and ethnicities, young and old, living in urban, suburban, and rural areas. What also emerged from the research was a pattern of coping strategies that families employ when they do not have enough income or assistance to afford basic necessities. When looked at as a whole, these strategies tell us a great deal about the problems in our communities, and the challenges that families and communities face in developing solutions: • Most obviously, the extent of hardship – with 40 percent of households earning below the ALICE Threshold – means that millions of families are being forced to make difficult choices and risky trade-offs on a day-to-day basis. • The struggle, the risks, and those difficult choices are stressful and taxing for these families, their employers, and their communities. These situations lead not to advancement, but to worse outcomes. And not being able to support one’s family even with hard work causes frustration and increasing distress. • The problems are complicated and interwoven. Inadequate housing, child care, food, transportation, and health care create safety risks and health risks to all members of a community, not just ALICE. For solutions to be effective, they must be as comprehensive and interconnected as the problems are. Siloed solutions do not work. Policy makers should consider the following: • Jobs. Higher wages, more hours, or both would mean more ALICE workers could better support their families and be more engaged in their communities. The means to achieve higher wages range from raises in current jobs to new job opportunities, which may require training in new skills. Additional work hours may also demand different work schedules, better transportation, or additional child care to support increased productivity. 82 UNITED WAY ALICE REPORT – THE CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD INCOME
• Assistance. Public and nonprofit assistance – especially child care assistance, EITC, SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, and TANF – already makes a big difference for many ALICE and poverty-level families. There are limits to the effectiveness of assistance, however. Not all struggling families can access benefits due to eligibility limits and work requirements that have not kept pace with the changing landscape of jobs, schedules, and household costs. In addition, most assistance is not flexible enough to address emergencies; for example, a family cannot use food subsidies to pay an unexpected medical bill. • Crime and incarceration. Most households in the U.S. play by the rules, but in all income tiers, a small number break the law for financial gain. For a few families with very limited financial options, that behavior can take the form of selling SNAP benefits or even drugs for cash in order to afford rent and utilities. The consequences of arrest and fines are particularly severe for low-income households, especially those without the means to pay fees or hire a lawyer, and the consequences of incarceration and a criminal record add barriers to future earning ability and eligibility for public assistance that all but ensure longer-term hardship (Moore, 2013; Stevenson, 2016; Kearney & Harris, 2014). In weighing the costs and benefits of policy changes that would help ALICE and poverty-level households, the costs of crime, incarceration, and re-entry are sometimes a part of the equation. There are specific considerations in each area of the household budget: Housing. Because this is the most expensive item in most families’ budget, housing that is affordable would make the biggest difference to ALICE families. Location is also key, in terms of safety and accessibility to jobs, child care and schools, healthy food, doctors, and hospitals. When affordable housing is not located close to these essentials, there needs to be additional transportation planning to bridge the gap. Child care. With two major purposes in mind – child development and parent employment – child care requires trained workers, a safe setting, and hours and locations that are work-friendly. Child care vouchers, subsidized programs, and universal pre-K make a difference for millions of children and their working parents. Yet there are still gaps in coverage for families who are not eligible or who live in areas without quality providers. Food. A healthy diet requires more than affordable food. The extent of food deserts and chronic hunger highlight the structural challenges of providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables, time to prepare meals, and a kitchen to cook in. SNAP, WIC, and food pantries provide critical assistance, yet the problem of food insecurity persists among ALICE and poverty-level families across the country. UNITED WAY ALICE REPORT – THE CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD INCOME 83
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ALICE: THE CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFIC
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THE ALICE RESEARCH TEAM The United
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ALICE: BRINGING HARDSHIP INTO FOCUS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....
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...AND FOR ALL FAMILIES IMPACT ON T
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• The ALICE Threshold - a bare-mi
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The purpose of this report is to pr
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Figure 3. Monthly Housing Costs and
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In 2014, the U.S. states with the h
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No mother ever envisions finding he
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Long-term effects on health and wel
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friends grew to 7.7 million people
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twice as much as redevelopment of i
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UNITED WAY ALICE REPORT - THE CONSE
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Figure 5. Monthly Child Care Costs
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and accredited child care center fo
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Having a child with special needs h
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The slow progress in national enrol
Page 37 and 38: Loss of education advancement: Near
Page 39 and 40: Strategy 8: Drop out of High School
Page 41 and 42: time students and 76 percent of par
Page 43 and 44: • Closing the education achieveme
Page 45 and 46: UNITED WAY ALICE REPORT - THE CONSE
Page 47 and 48: Figure 7. Monthly Food Costs and Pe
Page 49 and 50: • For children, lack of sufficien
Page 51 and 52: Stigma: For many families, using pu
Page 53 and 54: FUTURE TRENDS: FEEDING ALICE More y
Page 57 and 58: $26,960 annually (if full time, yea
Page 59 and 60: Difficulty accessing health care: U
Page 61 and 62: Despite working full time (and havi
Page 63 and 64: Additional costs of longer commutes
Page 67 and 68: • Health and financial stability
Page 69 and 70: of seniors living in poverty have h
Page 71 and 72: educational consequences of untreat
Page 73 and 74: survey said cost was the primary re
Page 75 and 76: had to use their own money or modif
Page 77 and 78: others, such as caregivers of elder
Page 79 and 80: the minimum income required to rece
Page 83 and 84: In the states with the most regress
Page 85 and 86: children under the age of 18 make u
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Page 93 and 94: Aron, L., Honberg, R., & Duckworth,
Page 95 and 96: Carnevale, A., Rose, S., & Cheah, B
Page 97 and 98: Cunningham, A., & Kienzl, G. (2011)
Page 99 and 100: Glover, R., Miller, J., & Sadowski,
Page 101 and 102: Johnson, R. (2015). Housing Costs a
Page 103 and 104: Mayer, C., & Pence, K. (2008). Subp
Page 105 and 106: Perez, G. (2016). Latino State of E
Page 107 and 108: Stetser, M., & Stillwell, R. (2014,
Page 109 and 110: United Way ALICE Project. (2016). 2
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The Consequences of Insufficient Household Income

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