The Poverty Institute releases its 2008 Rhode Island Standard of Need report today. According to the study, a single parent raising two children on an annual income of $32,560 will need an extra $1,100 each month. 

The report looks at the cost of basic necessities like rent, food and transportation. Authors estimate that a single parent with two children would need to earn $53,000 a year, or three times the federal poverty level. A single adult would need earnings of $20,800 per year, twice the federal poverty level.

Poverty Institute Executive Director Kate Brewster says four out of five Ocean State families rely on state subsidized health and child care programs to make ends meet. 40% of single adults make less than the $20,800 the study estimates they would need to cover basic expenses.