Although many of these families are not poor according to the official poverty measure, their incomes are inadequate. But what is adequate income? How does this amount vary among different family types and different places? What impact do work supports have on the wages families need to earn? How much is enough in Tennessee?

The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Tennessee measures how much income is needed for a family of a given composition in a given place to adequately meet its basic needs -- without public or private assistance. The Standard contains data for all 95 counties in Tennessee, including costs of housing, child care, food, transportation, and health care plus the self-sufficiency hourly wage a person must earn to meet these basic needs. In Davidson County, for instance, without any assistance, a single parent with one infant and one preschooler needs to earn $15.84 an hour, or $33,463 a year, to cover her family's costs. However with child care subsidies and child support, her required hourly wage declines to $9.43. With child care, food stamps, TennCare, and child support, her self-sufficiency wage falls to $6.91 an hour.

The Self-Sufficiency Standard is relevant to a range of issues and can be used in a variety of settings: to assist welfare clients choosing the best route out of poverty, to help organizations better target their education and training resources, or to aid policy makers analyzing proposals on tax policy programs and economic development.

To access the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Tennessee full report, please click here.

The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Tennessee was produced in partnership between Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), Dr. Diana Pearce at the University of Washington, the Tennessee Network for Community Economic Development (TNCED) and the Tennessee Alliance for Progress (TAP).

For more information about the Standard or to obtain a hard copy, email TAP at info@tennesseeallianceforprogress.org.