The Status of Working Families in Indiana: 2005 Update

Overall, Indiana has had a dramatic increase in the number of people in poverty during the past few years. Kids have been particularly hard-hit: poverty rate for children in Indiana jumped sharply from 10.5 percent in 2002 to 18.5 percent in 2004, greater than the national average of 17.8 percent. And the number of families struggling to pay for basic needs like as food, housing and child care is even higher than the poverty rate indicates. The Indiana Coalition on Housing and Homeless Issues and the Indiana Institute for Working Families have issued a new report on jobs, wages, incomes, and poverty in the state—with information that advocates and concerned adults in other states may find useful.