About the Working Poor Families Project

The Working Poor Families Project is a national initiative focused on state workforce development policies involving: 1) education and skills training for adults; 2) economic development; and 3) income and work supports. The WPFP supports state nonprofit groups to engage in a two-part, phased process that begins with an in-depth assessment of the economic conditions and state policies affecting working families and is followed by actions to strengthen those conditions and policies.

The state policy assessment process is conducted the first year a state nonprofit joins the WPFP. The assessment uses a framework of indicators provided by the WPFP to examine current economic conditions and related state policies and programs. This examination culminates in a State Policy Assessment Report that points out where a state’s investments and policies stand in relation to other states and the nation. Most importantly, the report recommends actions for improving state policies and program operations.

Following the release of the state report, WPFP groups engage in the Strengthening State Policy Initiative that involves educating key stakeholders on the opportunities to improve state workforce development systems and policies. Each group develops a policy agenda then works to implement that agenda with other stakeholders such as community-based organizations, state and local nonprofit groups, associations of education providers, employers, and state agencies.

As a result of their involvement in WPFP, the state nonprofits have:

• Contributed to the strengthening of state policies and practices;
• Increased and sustained state funds that support the goals of the WPFP; and
• Increased their organizational capacity and built important new relationships.

A unique feature of the Project is the annual analysis of U.S. Census data to identify the number and conditions of low-income working families in the country and in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. In both 2004 and 2008 the WPFP has produced a report highlighting the challenges faced by working low-income families. Key findings from the most recent  analyses are documented in the WPFP’s 2008 national report, Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short: New Findings on the Challenges Confronting America’s Working Families, include:

• More than one out of four working families with children is low-income. In all, a total of 42 million adults and children struggle to get by.
• The number of low-income working families increased by 350,000 between 2002 and 2006.
• Income inequality among working families increased by almost 10 percent from 2002 to 2006.

The goal of economic self-sufficiency remains an elusive dream for far too many working families.