The ALICE Threshold is based upon a Household Survival Budget for each county which calculates the bare-minimum costs for daily basic needs and the minimum hourly and annual household wages needed to meet these needs. The budget does not allow for any savings, emergencies, or recreational costs.

For example: The average annual ALICE Household Survival Budget in Wisconsin in 2021 was $24,492 for a single adult, $27,444 for a single senior, and $63,324 for a family of four with young children. This was significantly more than the 2021 Federal Poverty Level of $12,880 for a single adult and $26,500 for a family of four. In Brown County, the average ALICE Household Survival Budget was $26,340 for a single adult, $29,028 for a single senior, and $67,248 for a family of four with young children. It is common for individuals living below the ALICE Threshold to have more than one job and still not earn enough to meet basic costs of living.

Available disaggregated data revealed significant economic disparities within the following Brown County population cohorts identified as living at or above the ALICE Threshold (i.e., economically secure):

• 31% of Black-headed-households 
• 40% of American Indian/Alaska Native-headed-households
• 51% of Hispanic/Latino-headed-households
• 57% of households headed by individuals of two or more races
• 66% of Caucasian-headed-households
• 81% of Asian-headed-households
• 28% of single-female-headed-households with children
• 43% of single-male-headed-households with children
• 46% of under-age-25-headed-households
• 52% of age-65-and-older-headed-households

Important note: Change over time in race/ethnicity between 2019 and 2021 is not included here due to changes the U.S. Census Bureau made to its questions on Hispanic origin and race, as well as coding adjustments, in 2020. These changes help the Census and ACS provide a more complete picture of the U.S. population, especially for people who self-identify as multiracial or multiethnic. But as a result, the Census urges caution when comparing race data between years before and after 2020. The biggest impact was on the Multiracial population (previously Two or More Races): The number of Multiracial households increased by 277% nationally from 2019 to 2021. This increase may have muted the increases in other racial/ethnic groups over the same period.

Additional groups especially vulnerable to living below the ALICE Threshold include, but are not limited to, families with young children, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, and younger veterans.

This data serves as a Call to Action - particularly with respect to the devastating impacts of systemic racism and discrimination. The structural and institutional barriers to economic security (both governmental and nongovernmental), such as sustainable wages and equitable access to education, healthcare, and safe, affordable housing, must be addressed.

County Profiles - ALICE Report 2023: Wisconsin | UnitedForALICE

Organizations currently engaging in conversations regarding CHIP Strategy 1.1 include:

• Brown County United Way
• Bay Area Workforce Development Board
• Goodwill NCW
• Greater Green Bay Chamber
• New North
• YWCA Greater Green Bay

Additional partners will be engaged over time.

Research/Evidence-Based Practices:

Economic security for individual households and communities can be improved through efforts such as the following:

• Stimulating economic growth to increase incomes and expand employment opportunities.
• Undertaking economic and institutional reforms to enhance efficiency and improve the utilization of resources.
• Prioritizing the basic needs of the economically insecure in policy development.
• Promoting microfinance programs to remove constraints to innovation, entrepreneurship, and small-scale business.
• Providing incentives to the private sector. 
• Centering the voices of those with lived experience to ensure that the benefits of economic security initiatives reach the intended target populations.

Innovative Local Solutions:

• Improve the availability of quality childcare options for culturally diverse populations. This is an initiative in the pilot phase; phase one and two pilot partners (focused on Somali immigrants and refugees) include Brown County United Way, Family & Childcare Resources of Northeast Wisconsin, Community Services Agency, Inc. (COMSA), and Casa ALBA Melanie.
• A number of additional innovative solutions are in progress through various local organizations and will be listed here soon.

In 2023 and beyond, Brown County United Way will facilitate the objective of CHIP Strategy 1.1 by bringing together a diverse group of cross-sectoral community partners to:

• Coordinate discussions around and engage in enhanced data collection to reflect a timely, local, and accurate picture of the factors that contribute to Brown County households' economic security/insecurity.
• Collectively examine and identify additional, related measures to track over time. Potential additional measures could include, but are not limited to:
  • ALICE Survival Budgets by county
  • Annual job growth rate
  • Median hourly wage rates by occupation
  • Employment growth by industry and earnings per worker
  • Growth in sustainable wage jobs
  • Educational attainment/apprenticeship/job skill certification rates
  • Rate of inflation
  • Consumer Price Index
  • ALICE Essentials Index
  • Availability of quality childcare options that meet families' needs (including culturally diverse families) and shift workers (impacts ability of parents/caregivers to work)
• Through community education and awareness, reduce the stigma that can be associated with individuals and families living below the ALICE Threshold - which can be rooted in racism, classism, ageism, ableism, etc.
• Map and uplift current efforts; and identify gaps and potential new opportunities to collaborate on solutions to improve economic security for households living below the ALICE Threshold.