Report finds support lacking for working poor

A new report shows that, despite Wisconsin’s booming economy, many of the state’s working families are locked out of jobs that pay supporting wages and are unaware of or unable to access critical support services like health care, child care and transportation assistance.

“Barely Getting By: Wisconsin’s Working Poor,” jointly written by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy and two other organizations, shows that even while many state residents are celebrating Wisconsin’s new prosperity, tens of thousands of working families have not yet achieved even minimal financial security.

Three out of 10 Wisconsin workers held poverty wage jobs in 1997, up from one in four in 1979. Nearly one in 11 (8.9 percent) working families with children is poor.

“Wisconsin families will never work their way out of poverty if the only jobs available to them pay poverty wages,” says Joel Rogers, director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy. “And we can change this. There are clear policy choices available. Make hard work pay or not? To me, to ask that question is to answer it.”

The report includes stories from diverse families across the state that make clear that labor market trends are just part of the picture. The authors point to the strong economy and changing attitudes about poverty as presenting a unique opportunity to ensure that the state’s prosperity can be more broadly shared by building systems that make work pay and support working families.

“Better training, increased access to existing support services, and a reexamination of the cut-offs for successful programs like Badgercare and child care subsidies are needed to assist those struggling in the new economy,” says Karen Royster, executive director of the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future.

“It’s policy fix-up time,” says Anne Arnesen, director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. “Policy changes can and should be made to enable poor working families to share the good times.”

The executive summary and the complete report can be downloaded at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy web site.