Rhode Island Standard of Need 2010 - Overview
All documents are in downloadable PDF format
Full Report: The 2010 Rhode Island Standard of Need
Executive Summary
Additional Chart: Deep in the Red: What Happens When Families Lose Work Supports
Press Release
Every two years, The Poverty Institute publishes The Rhode Island Standard of Need (RISN) to provide an accurate picture of how much it costs to live in Rhode Island, and to show how government assistance programs help families meet basic needs.
This year's RISN shows that it costs a single parent family nearly $50,000, and a two-parent family almost $54,000, to raise two young children. It costs an individual over $20,600 to meet basic needs. To meet these costs, families and individuals need significant earnings, anywhere from two- to three-times the federal poverty level.
The study demonstrates how tax credits and government assistance programs, such as SNAP food assistance, subsidized child care and RIte Care health insurance, help close the gap between earnings and expenses for families with low to moderate wages.
RISN PRESS:
Reports point to growing need for food aid (Providence Journal, 11.22.10)
As new leaders debate the best way to balance the state budget, we hope they use this study as a guide and remember that they need to help families balance their budgets and build economic security, said Kate Brewster, executive director of the institute. Report: Many RI residents still seeking food aid (WJAR-TV, 11.22.10)
Coinciding with the hunger figures, a report from the Poverty Institute that shows the average income a household needs for all necessities -- not just food -- is more than double the federal poverty level. "Indicating that many more Rhode Islanders are having trouble making ends meet than the number reported to be living in poverty," said the Institute's Kate Brewster.
RI residents seeking food aid (WPRO AM, 11.22.10)
The Poverty Institute's study shows that the cost of meeting basic needs is above what the federal government defines as the poverty level, and assistance programs are critical in closing the gap between earnings and expenses.
Many RI residents still seeking food aid (Associate Press, 11.22.10) appeared in Boston Globe, New England Cable News, Connecticut Post, and more
Reports issued in tandem Monday by the Rhode Island Food Bank and the Poverty Institute show that the recession makes it difficult for people to afford food and other basic needs.
More Families Seeking Help from Food Bank (WPRI-TV, 11.22.10)
New reports say even with Thanksgiving just days away many Rhode Islanders are still having trouble putting food on the table.
1 in 7 food insecure (WRNI, 11.22.10)
With more and more people coming they're not going to be able to provide as much to each household and that is going to put the strain elsewhere on the system," Andrew Schiff says. Schiff says government programs like school lunches and food stamps will have to be expanded to pick up the slack from maxed out charitable programs.
RI Community Food Bank reports staggering numbers (Warwick Beacon, 11.23.10)
"We want to show how critical government programs like SNAP are, Brewster said. The increase in both SNAP eligibility and the amount of benefits, as well as the reduction in RIte Care health insurance premiums, shift many family budgets from the red to the black. The fact is that these programs will continue to be necessary for the hundreds of families and individuals that do not earn enough to make ends meet.
PAST RISN REPORTS
2008 Rhode Island Standard of Need
2006 Rhode Island Standard of Need
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