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Exploring Poverty in Indiana

January is National Poverty in America Awareness Month.

Groups across the country and in Indiana champion this month as an opportunity to bring attention to the growing number of individuals in poverty, or who lack a socially acceptable amount of income or material possessions. FSSA administers multiple programs aimed at supporting families and individuals who are low income and/or financially unstable.

Key facts:

Nationally, 11% of Americans live in poverty due to a variety of factors, and which are often reinforced by federal, state and local policy decisions. For example, families may experience benefits cliffs, when benefits-eligible individuals lose eligibility for benefits due to even slight increases in income.

These experiences persist despite federal legislation that aims to reduce discrimination among many hiring practices and income-based supports, and which should support greater income and general stability. These efforts include the Civil Rights Act, Fair Housing Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act, among others.

14% of Hoosiers live in poverty, including:

Nationally, the following groups are more likely to live in poverty for some of the following reasons:

  • Children -Household expenses increase with a child, leading to less funds for other essential needs. Parents also experience greater difficulty obtaining and maintaining crucial supports, such as stable, affordable housing.
  • Women - Gender wage gap (more likely to earn less money than men, regardless of profession) and occupational segregation (women more likely to enter professions that pay less in general, e.g. K-12 education). Women are also more likely to experience domestic violence and be a single parent.
  • Black Americans - The racial wage gap (earning less money than other racial groups, regardless of profession or educational status); continual racially discriminatory hiring and promotion practices; and the multigenerational racial wealth gap, which limits financial support that Black families can leverage.
  • People with a disability—Low employment rates, partially due to lack of flexibility among employers, lack of transportation, and inaccessibility in some workplaces for certain disabilities.
  • Those without a high school diploma—Often ineligible for more stable and/or higher-paying jobs, especially with the decline of manufacturing and similar professions that did not require higher levels of education.

    (Institute for Research on Poverty: https://www.irp.wisc.edu/resources/who-is-poor/)

Defining poverty: Federal poverty guidelines and the working poor

The federal poverty level, also known as the poverty line, is a set of income guidelines established by the federal government used to determine eligibility for various programs and benefits. This measure is issued every year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The FPL sets parameters for many safety net programs administered by FSSA: Medicaid eligibility, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage, the Child Care and Development Fund, and Head Start. Other related programs include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infant and Children, the Federal School Lunch Program, among several others.

In Indiana the current FPL income for one person is $12,880 and $26,500 for a family of four. Many advocates think the calculation for these limits can be outdated and do not fully capture the needs and experiences of those with limited income.'

The working poor are defined as “the percentage of all workers ages 25-64 who both work full-time and have a family income below the indicated federal poverty threshold based on family size and composition.”

Related Resources

Food insecurity

Did you know that 12.4% of Hoosiers experienced food insecurity before the COVID-19 pandemic, including 15.3% of children?

Individuals living in poverty may experience food insecurity, defined as a temporary or long-term disruption of food intake or eating patterns due to lack of money and other resources. FSSA’s Division of Family Resources works with Hoosiers in need of food assistance by screening eligibility for programs, like SNAP. Yet, about a third of food-insecure children and adults are not income eligible for nutritional programs. As of September 2021, 292,275 households receive SNAP benefits, providing about $495 in benefits a month.

Connecting with local programs

Did you know that of IN211 callers reporting their annual income, 85% earn less than $25,000?

In addition to federal programs, Hoosiers in poverty may need help connecting with local organizations and programs that can help with transportation and paying for rent and utilities. These are the largest need categories as identified by Indiana 211, a division of FSSA that helps individuals from all over the state. Receiving an average of 20,000 calls per month, community navigators provide relevant and accurate information to callers. Most individuals call about:

  • Electric assistance
  • Rental assistance
  • Ride app services
  • Food pantries
  • COVID-19 immunization clinics

You can visit the Indiana 211 data dashboard to see what individuals in your area are calling about.

Understanding trends
Did you know that a third of Hoosiers applying online for health coverage, SNAP or TANF reported having their utilities shut off in the past year?

The Office of Healthy Opportunities houses a resource that displays unmet needs among Hoosiers who apply for SNAP, Medicaid and TANF called the Hoosier Health and Well-being Atlas. This atlas displays responses to a 10-question survey in an interactive way that can be viewed by the public, FSSA staff, and community and state leaders. Results can be narrowed down by county to determine populations in your community that report needing assistance with food, child care, transportation and other issues.

To find more information and trends on poverty in the United States and in Indiana, visit these links:

Call to Action: 

  • Using some of the above tools, explore what unmet needs look like in your community
  • Find, support and volunteer for organizations that help meet those needs in your area

Other January holidays:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday to honor the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and is the only such holiday designated as a federal day of service.

  • MLK Day did not receive widespread support when it was proposed as a federal holiday
  • This year, the family of Dr. King is not promoting celebrations of his life, instead asking for greater advocacy for voters’ rights and greater access.
  • Learn more about his efforts across multiple areas, including racial justice, as well as poverty reduction, economic justice and the Vietnam War.
  • Identify an organization where you can volunteer that day and establish an ongoing relationship with them. Many community-serving organizations benefit from consistent volunteers instead of those who only come once.
  • Most locations have an MLK celebration, parade or museum admissions that you can find.