Colorado's Working Poor

THE DENVER POST - When Gina Aleman got a job as a leasing agent and left public assistance, for the first time in her life she felt relief.

No more food stamps, childcare help or rental subsidies for the former foster child and single mom of three.

But it took only two months to realize that her $2,300-a-month income was not enough to cover rent, child care, health care, car insurance and food.

"When I got the job, I was so happy and relieved that I didn't need any services," she said. "And as time went on, it was revealed that I did. You think you can do it alone, but you can't."

Aleman's family is one in the "policy gap" described in a 50-page study released today by the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute. The study "Overlooked and Undercounted: Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Colorado," found that one in five Colorado working families lives below what the institute calls the self-sufficiency standard.

The institute developed the county-specific standard for Colorado in 2001 and updated it three years later. In Denver the threshold for a single adult is $18,732; for an adult with two children it is $44,991; two adults and two children is $48,065. The standard includes taxes, insurance and work-related expenses along with basics such as rent, food and childcare.

Denver Post