UKCPR Director James Ziliak chaired a committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) that recommended updating the methodology used by the Census Bureau to calculate the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). The new report suggests use of a more comprehensive measure than the Official Poverty Measure to reflect more accurately a household's basic needs and resources.
“As our society and economy change, the way we measure the financial reality that families face must adapt as well,” Ziliak said. “Our recommendations are focused on adjusting the Supplemental Poverty Measure so that it more effectively captures the resources and needs that disadvantaged families are balancing. As our society and economy change, the way we measure the financial reality that families face must adapt as well. Our recommendations are focused on adjusting the Supplemental Poverty Measure so that it more effectively captures the resources and needs that disadvantaged families are balancing.”
The committee recommended closer examination of health care, child care, and housing costs in determining the SPM. The committee recommends changes such as inclusion of the cost of a basic health insurance plan, treating parents who are pursuing education the same as those who are employed, and setting housing cost thresholds for renters only. The committee made a range of recommendations, including a name change for the measure to the Principal Poverty Measure (PPM) as a more appropriate description.
To see a summary of the committee's recommendations, visit the NASEM Web site.
The Committee on Evaluation and Improvements to the Supplemental Poverty Measure included some of the nation's leading experts on poverty issues. Bradley Hardy, a UK alumnus and associate professor in the McCourt School of of Public Policy at Georgetown University, was a member of the group charged with producing the report for NASEM. The full committee report, titled An Updated Measure of Poverty, is available as a free download.