Economic Stability

Another goal of DCYF is that families have economic stability. As DCYF staff engaged stakeholders across the state on what they wanted to see children and families achieve, we heard repeatedly about the importance of basic needs being met. Without economic security, many other positive outcomes related to health and education become harder to achieve. Census data on Washington State families with children living below the poverty level show disparities based on race and ethnicity. While White and Asian families live below the poverty level at rates lower than the state average of 10%, others have much higher rates. American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latino families with children live below the poverty level at rates over twice what White families experience, and the poverty rate of Black/African American families is nearly three times the rate of poverty for White families. One in 5 Black/African American families in Washington State live in poverty, as do 1 in 6 families who are Hispanic or American Indian/Alaska Native.