Listen in Lawrence Walsh reports from a press conference on family economics in Pennsylvania: Interview with Carol Goertzel, president and chief executive office of PathWaysPA Interview with single mother Ivy Pack, of Mount Oliver (Read more about Ms. Pack's story in tomorrow's Post-Gazette.)

A first of its kind statewide report reveals that one in four working families with children do not earn enough to adequately support themselves.

The report says that 1.4 million Pennsylvanians live in families whose wages are too low to cover their basic needs, including almost 700,000 children. It said 21 percent of residents in southwestern Pennsylvania live below the minimum needed to support themselves, which it described as a family of two adults and two children earning $40,000 a year before taxes.

The report, "Investing in Pennsylvania's Families: Economic Opportunity for All," said the state ranks 47th in the nation in the percentage of low-income working families in which one parent has more than a high school education.

The report recommends ways that government and businesses can work together to create good jobs and industries accessible to low-income working families. It also addresses access to education and skills training.

The report is part of the Working Poor Families Project, a national initiative of the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Joyce and Charles Stewart Mott Foundations. The project studies state-level policies and programs affecting low-wage working families.

Carol Goertzel, president and chief executive office of PathWaysPA, a services and advocacy organization for women, children and families, said this is the first state-wide report on the economic plight of Pennsylvania's working families.