New Report Finds That Investing in Kentucky's Working Families Key to State Prosperity

33 percent of State's Working Families are Low-Income; Budget Shortfalls and Policy Barriers Holding Families and Kentucky Back

BEREA, Ky., March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report released by the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) suggests that Kentucky's economic challenges are rooted in insufficient support of the one-third of the state's working families that are low-income.

The report finds that state budget shortfalls and policy barriers in the areas of higher and adult education, workforce development, economic development and work supports are keeping low-income families from making progress, and holding back economic gains for all of Kentucky.

"Low-income working families make up the fabric of every city, small town and rural community throughout the Commonwealth," said Justin Maxson, President of MACED. "Yet as a state we haven't prioritized investing in those families and putting in place policy measures that really contribute to their success. We have not come to grips with how closely our shared prosperity depends on the success of all of the state's families."

Thirty-seven percent of the state's children live in low-income households. Low-income working families face significant barriers to their success, including that most have no parent with post-secondary education, most do not own a home and 36 percent have a parent without health insurance.

State budget problems are a major factor in these challenges.

• Tuition for public higher education rose 60 percent between 2002 and 2007 in Kentucky, and 45,000 students (47 percent of applicants) are being denied need-based financial aid.
• Even though 54 percent of adults in Kentucky have basic or below-basic literacy, the state spends only $48 annually on adult education per adult without a high school diploma or GED, far below the national average of $66.
• Adults in Kentucky lose health coverage through Medicaid at incomes above only 62 percent of the poverty level.

"As the state makes choices about how to address its budget shortfall and explores revenue options," said Jason Bailey, MACED Research and Policy Director, "It must take into account the inadequacies of current public investment in the state's families, and the consequences of further cuts on our state's economic future."

The report can be found at http://www.maced.org/WPFP-2010-release.htm.

SOURCE Mountain Association for Community Economic Development/MACED