Self-Sufficiency
& Good Jobs
Setting Standards for Wages and Eligibility for Services Under the Workforce Investment Act
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A family-sustaining wage Many people around the country are trying to assess just what "self-sufficiency" means in order to fight for jobs that truly meet the needs of working families and to provide services that help workers climb the skills ladder to careers capable of sustaining families. This Action Brief looks at these issues and some of the options available for increasing wage levels and job quality through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). |
Two Uses of the Term “Self-Sufficiency”
There
are two common and distinct ways that the term “self-sufficiency”
is used. Understanding both uses is important in order to
improve workforce development policies.
- Under WIA Title I, “self-sufficiency” is a wage-level threshold below which employed workers become eligible for intensive support services and specialized training to get better jobs. This self-sufficiency standard is used to determine eligibility for services.
- In living wage campaigns and other drives for good jobs, “self-sufficiency” is a broader measure of whether wages are sufficient to meet the real costs of supporting a family. It is a measure of job quality based on documented costs of a “market basket” of essential family budget items