Families are Economically Secure

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.

Percent of Washington State Families with Children, Living Below Poverty Level, by Race/Ethnicity, 2010-2022

 

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Percent of Washington State Families with Children, Living Below Poverty Level, by Race/Ethnicity, 2010-2022

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2010-2022). American community survey public use microdata samples (ACS PUMS) 1-year estimates [2010-2022]. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/data/pums/. 
WSRDAC/M: Yes; AI/AN, Multiracial included with AI/AN; Black/African American, Multiracial included with Black/African American; and Asian/Pacific Islander, Multiracial combined with Asian/PI. For more information on the WSRDAC/M reporting standard for race/ethnicity, see Cummings, K., Graham, J. C., Veele, S., & Ybarra, V. (2021). Using data in DCYF to advance racial equity. Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families – Office of Innovation, Alignment, and Accountability. 
Notes: This measure reports family race/ethnicity based on the race/ethnicity of the householder. The householder is the person (or one of the people) in whose name the family's housing is owned or rented. A family is defined here as a group of two or more people, at least one of whom is under 18 years of age, related by birth, marriage, or adoption, and residing together.