Parents in many MD families work in jobs with inadequate wages. More than 384,000 Marylanders in 2002 earned less than a poverty-level wage of $8.61 an hour.
More than 100,000 working families in Maryland are struggling to get by.
In 2001, a family earning an annual income of under $17,960 was considered to be "living in poverty".
Source: Connecting Low-Income Families to Good Jobs: A Policy Road Map for Maryland, Job Opportunities Task Force, 2004.