The Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP) has released the 2018 Kids Count in Michigan Data Book, funded in part by eight CMF members, which shines a light on disparities facing Michigan children when it comes to race and socioeconomic status.

“While poverty has dropped slightly, it’s still affecting nearly half of all African-American kids, and nearly a third of all Michigan kids don’t have any family member working steadily,” Gilda Jacobs, president and CEO of MLPP said. “As lawmakers work on the budget over the next few months, they must place a greater emphasis on supporting struggling families and their kids.”

Highlights of the report’s key findings:

Economic Security

• More than one in five Michigan children, which is more than 444,000 kids, lived in poverty in 2016. About 55 percent of African-American and 29 percent of Latinx (the gender-neutral term used instead of Latino or Latina) children live in high-poverty neighborhoods.

• Meanwhile, two in five children live in households at 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), (an earned incomed of $48,678 for a family of four) and are still struggling.

• For married parents living in poverty who have two children in child care, those child care costs consumed 92 percent of their poverty level income. Learn more in MLPP's child care brief.

Health and Safety

• African-American babies are nearly three times more likely to die before their first birthday compared to white babies.

• More than 30 percent of births are to mothers who didn’t receive adequate prenatal care. That number is even higher for women of color, up to 44 percent for African-American women, 40 percent for Latinas and 36 percent for American Indian and Middle Eastern women.

Family and Community

• Michigan is one of five states in the U.S. that automatically considers 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system. For those who enter the adult criminal justice system at age 17, they are treated as adults and don’t receive the education that the juvenile system provides and other youth-related considerations. Once those individuals are released from the adult system, they are 34 percent more likely to reoffend and move toward more violent crimes than those in the juvenile justice system.

Education

• Nearly 53 percent of 3 and 4-year-olds are not in preschool.

• According to M-STEP data, MLPP said nearly 56 percent of all third-graders are not proficient in language arts. This aligns with the recent report from The Education Trust Midwest,  which showed only 44 percent of all Michigan third-graders are proficient in reading.  

• The data shows 65 percent of students are not career and college ready. There are disparities among income levels, as 84 percent of economically disadvantaged students don’t meet benchmarks.

The report provides a snapshot of statewide recommendations that could improve the lives of Michigan’s children and better support families.

Recommendations:

• Strengthen policies that support working families such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.

• Expand income eligibility for child care subsidies and improve the reimbursement rate for providers. The state did raise reimbursement rates and the threshold of eligibility for child care subsidies to 130 percent of the FPL last year. CMF, authorized by our Board of Trustees at the request of the P-20 Education Affinity Group and Public Policy Committee, had advocated for increasing the threshold of eligibility to 150 percent of the FPL and for increased child care provider reimbursement rates. CMF will continue to advocate for Michigan’s eligibility threshold to grow from 130 to 150 percent of the FPL, which would allow Michigan to expand access for Michigan families and join 33 other states that set eligibility at 150 percent or higher.

• Build on home visitation and other programs that are focused on educating and removing barriers to prenatal care for women.

• Raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction in Michigan’s criminal justice system from 17 to 18 years old. MLPP said this is a top policy change needed in Michigan, noting that there’s a bipartisan package of bills that’s been introduced in Michigan that would ensure 17-year-olds are treated in the juvenile system.

• Expand the current preschool program to include all 3-year-olds.

• Adequately fund public schools, targeting high need areas, and fully fund the At-Risk program which serves students who are chronically absent and/or at risk of falling behind in school.

The report examined Michigan’s 83 counties and found that Livingston, Clinton and Ottawa counties earned the best rankings for overall child well-being. You can see where your county ranks on page 8 of the report.

Want more?

Read the full report.

Check out MLPP’s resources for advocates.

Join CMF and the Office of Foundation Liaison (OFL) at the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Site Visit on May 10 to explore pathways to career readiness for Michigan students.

Want to dig deeper into topics connected to issues mentioned in this report? Connect with CMF’s P-20 Education Affinity Group and/or CMF’s Health Funders Affinity Group.