Welcome to the 11th Edition of the Economic Progress Institute’s Rhode Island Standard of Need (RISN). EPI publishes the RISN every other year to answer two fundamental questions about the economic security or insecurity of Rhode Islanders:
1. What is the cost of meeting basic needs for families and individuals in Rhode Island?
2. How do state and federal work supports help households meet the cost of basic needs?
In this 2022 edition of the RISN, we pose three additional questions:
3. What are the racial and ethnic inequities in the ability of Rhode Island families to meet their basic needs?
4. How have policy and program changes in 2021 and 2022 helped improve economic security for Rhode Islanders?
5. How can Rhode Island’s policymakers sustain and build upon the progress of the last two years?
Far too many Rhode Islanders live with economic insecurity, unable to afford their most basic needs: housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and (for those with children) child care.