THE MIAMI-DADE
SELF SUFFICIENCY
STANDARD
Can You Afford to Live in Miami-Dade?
The Miami-Dade Self-Sufficiency Standard (SSS) highlights the housing and childcare crises in Miami-Dade County, impacting all families.
The Miami-Dade Self-Sufficiency Standard (SSS) reveals the economic realities families face by calculating the income needed to cover their basic needs without assistance. It considers the costs of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and taxes and highlights the financial constraints of raising children and living in Miami-Dade. The SSS can be calculated for a wide range of families. These include families with a single adult without children, families with one adult and one infant, families with one adult and one preschooler, and so forth, up to families with three adults and six teenagers.
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Solutions to Help Families Meet the Self-Sufficiency Standard
The Women’s Fund Gender Equity Index Economic Mobility Pillar presents policy recommendations to address some of the challenges families face:
Paid Parental Leave: Employers should adopt generous paid parental leave policies, which enhance economic security, boost new parents’ well-being, reduce infant mortality, and decrease turnover.
Government Regulation of Pay Equality: Government entities should require contractors to affirm and report on pay equity in their workforce through their procurement process.
Support Early Childhood Learning Programs: Employers should promote a financially sustainable business model for early childhood education programs that supports women in the workforce, organize advocacy efforts that improve early learning center operations and opportunities, and provide workforce protections.
GEI Economic Mobility 2024 One-Pager
Explore our detailed Economic Policy paper, Women’s Economic Mobility: Opportunities and Barriers, to learn more about our strategies and recommendations. It outlines proactive measures to bridge gaps and foster economic resilience in our community.
Learn More About the Self-Sufficiency Standard
The Miami-Dade Self-Sufficiency Standard is produced by The University of Washington, Center for Women’s Welfare.