More than 1 in 5 Michigan children are living in poverty, while the state ranks in the bottom half of the nation in every aspect of child well-being, according to the 2018 Kids Count Data Book released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Overall, Michigan ranks 33rd for child well-being and the state's rankings have fallen or stagnated in several areas including economic well-being, education, family and community and health.
"We've got to figure out how to life up these kids out of poverty," Michigan League for Public Policy President and CEO Gilda Jacobs said. "Investing in kids is equally as important as investing in roads."
The Kids Count Data Book uses 16 indicators to rank the states across four domains: Health, education, economic well-being and family and community.
For those categories, Michigan's rankings were:
- 31st in economic well-being: 21 percent of MIchigan kids live in poverty, higher than the national average of 19 percent
- 38th in education: 69 percent of eighth-graders are not proficient in math and 68 percent of fourth graders are not proficient in reading.
- 25th in health: Only 3 percent of children in Michigan are without health insurance
- 30th in family and community: 17 percent of kids live in high-poverty areas, which makes Michigan one of the worst six states in the nation for that indicator
The only bright spot Gilda said is only 3% of Michigan children are without healthcare. Now that the state has passed work requirements to receive Medicaid, she said that number could go back up.
"Many kids in Michigan are already facing significant barriers, with more than 1 in 5 living in poverty. Now we're learning that 62,000 children in our state could essentially be ignored, potentially causing less federal funds for programs the state badly needs," said Alicia Guevara Warren, Kids Count in Michigan project director at the Michigan League for Public Policy.
The Michigan League is Public Policy has these suggestions:
- Increase the state Earned Income Tax Credit
- Invest in pre-natal care programs
- Have high quality child care
- Offer more adult educational programs
- Help parents find meaningful employment
“Pretty basic kinds of things and it really is kind of changing our priorities in terms of how we make our investments in our state.”
Jacobs tells us it’s important to pressure state lawmakers in investing in programs like this because she says, it takes a village.
“We want to be able to help parents be better parents because we know it is really going to help their kids.”
You can read the entire data book below.
2018 Kids Count Data Book by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
