The United Way of Butler County has established a goal of reducing the number of families and individuals living below the self-sufficiency standard by 30% by the year 2030 – “30 by 30,” and has allocated funds to local nonprofits working towards this goal.
ACHIEVEability, based in West Philadelphia, strives to break the cycle of poverty by helping families move towards financial freedom. They have used the Standard to measure progress towards financial self-sufficiency by connecting clients with living wage jobs, post-secondary education, and permanent housing.
In Pennsylvania, many groups, including PathWays PA, have used the Standard to model the impact of a state Earned Income Tax Credit on the ability of a family to reach self-sufficient wages.
In 2012, the United Way of Erie County challenged their community to reduce the number of families who cannot meet their basic needs by 10,000 before the year 2025.
PathWays PA developed The Pennsylvania Online Training and Benefits Eligibility Tool, an interactive career-counseling tool, to help counselors and clients test the extent to which various wages can meet a family’s self-sufficiency needs, as well as what potential training programs at their current wage.
A 2011 article in Poverty and Public Policy, “Determining Eligibility for Poverty-Based Assistance Programs: Comparing the Federally Established Poverty Level with the Self Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania,” compares the Standard with the Federal Policy Measure as an indicator for public assistance eligibility.
In Berks County, PA, the Berks County Workforce Investment Board used the Self-Sufficiency Standard during workshops to help prepare people on how much they will need to earn to meet their basic needs
This article documents the challenge of acquiring child care subsidies in Philadelphia in the article “The Difficulty of Obtaining a Child Care Subsidy: Implications for Policy and Practice.”
PathWays PA frequently cites the Self-Sufficiency Standard, including in Investing in Pennsylvania’s Families: Economic Opportunities for All, a policy publication looking at the needs of working families in Pennsylvania earning less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Guideline.
The Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board has used the Self-Sufficiency Standard since 2000 as part of its priority of service policy in that individuals who are not making a sufficient wage are considered for training.
