WHAT IS FAMILY ECONOMIC SUCCESS?

Simply put, family economic success (FES) seeks to help families overcome the economic, social, and policy barriers to achieving financial stability. Women In Government’s Family Economic Success Policy Resource Center is dedicated to connecting state legislators to
policy resources that support financial stability for lowincome, working families.

Our current Family Economic Success portfolio includes:

· Asset Building and Financial Literacy
· Earned Income Tax Credit
· Home Mortgages and Foreclosures
· Pay Disparity
· Predatory and Payday Lending
· Workforce Development

WHY FOCUS ON FAMILIES?

Families with children that are below the poverty level are at the heart of Women In Government’s FES efforts. The FES Policy Resource Center shares in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s approach to strengthening lowincome families and isolated communities through assetbuilding, family economic support programs, and workforce development. As noted by the Casey Foundation, children in the greatest trouble in America are those growing up in poor households and in economically disconnected communities. By linking state legislators with resources on FES issues, we hope to stimulate legislative interest in family economic
success issues and encourage policymakers to sponsor and cosponsor FES legislation in their own states.

For more information on Women In Government’s
Family Economic Success Policy Resource Center, visit:

http://www.womeningovernment.org/familysuccess
Telephone (202) 333-0825 Fax (202) 333-0875
1319 F Street NW, Suite 710 Washington, DC 20004
www.womeningovernment.org

QUICK FACTS

· The 2009 federal poverty
level for a family of four is a
gross yearly income of
$22,050 or a gross monthly
income of $1,838. (U.S.
Department of Health &
Human Services)

· In 2007, the family poverty
rate and the number of
families in poverty were 9.8%
and 7.6 million, respectively,
both statistically unchanged
from 2006. (U.S. Census
Bureau)

· In 2007, marriedcouple
families had a poverty rate of
4.9% (2.8 million), compared
with 28.3 % (4.1 million) for
femalehouseholder,
nohusbandpresent
families and
13.6 % (696,000) for those
with a male householder and
no wife present. (U.S. Census
Bureau)

· In 2007, more than 37 million
people lived below the
official poverty level, which
was just over $20,000 for a
family of four. (U.S. Census
Bureau)

· In 2006, the median
household income for white,
nonHispanic
families was
$50,673, over 1.5 times the
amount for black families
$31,969. (U.S. Census
Bureau)

FAMILY ECONOMIC SUCCESS
POLICY RESOURCE CENTER