Nearly 1 million children in Michigan lived in a household income below the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) threshold in 2019. 

New research released by the Michigan Association of United Ways, ALICE in Focus: Children, explores the data about the realities of living in financial hardship.

ALICE families earn above the federal poverty level and therefore do not qualify for assistance programs, but earn too little to afford the basics. 

Children below the ALICE threshold are those under the age of 18 living in households with income below the basic cost of living for their communities. The ALICE threshold is the average income that a household needs to afford housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and a smartphone plan plus taxes. 

According to the research, the number of children growing up in financial hardship in Michigan has been systematically undercounted due to the outdated Federal Poverty Level (FPL). For example, according to the FPL, 17% of children in Michigan lived in poverty in 2019 but United For ALICE data shows that another 27% grew up in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they lived.

The new research explores the demographics of children below the ALICE threshold, their living arrangements, household work status, education, health insurance and more.

Key findings from the report:

•    44% of children in Michigan lived in households with income below the ALICE threshold.

•    71% of Black children, 58% of Hispanic children, 36% of White children and 30% of Asian children in Michigan lived in households below the ALICE threshold in 2019.

•    Although the total population of American Indian/Alaska Native children in Michigan is smaller than other racial/ethnic groups, 57% lived below the ALICE threshold. 

•    23% of Michigan children in households with two adults in the labor force were below the ALICE threshold in 2019.

•    62% of children with a disability were more likely to live in households below the ALICE threshold than those without a disability (43%).

•    The largest number of children below the ALICE threshold were in married-couple households followed by single female-headed households. 

•    49% of children below the ALICE threshold in Michigan in 2019 were in families who rented and 51% were in families who owned their homes.

o    52% of children in renter households below the ALICE threshold were “rent-burdened” which is defined as spending more than 30% of a household’s income for housing. 

•    37% of preschool-age children below the ALICE threshold in Michigan were enrolled in preschool in 2019, compared to 58% of their peers above the threshold.

•    More than 550,000 children below the ALICE threshold in Michigan did not participate in SNAP and nearly 300,000 had no high-speed internet access at home in 2019.

•    97% of children in Michigan had health insurance in 2019 while 4% of children in families with income below the ALICE threshold did not have coverage.

•    43% of children in Black households below the ALICE threshold did not have high-speed internet access, compared to 29% of children in Hispanic and 28% of children in White households below the ALICE threshold.

The report also provides a snapshot of how children below the ALICE threshold fared amid the pandemic. These households faced financial uncertainties, food insecurity, interrupted learning and many did not receive the Child Tax Credit to support childcare costs. 

Key data points amid the pandemic:

•    Housing: More than one-third of families below the ALICE threshold with children were slightly confident, not at all confident or had deferred their housing payment. 

•    Food Security: In fall 2021, 41% of Michigan families below the ALICE threshold with children reported that sometimes or often “children were not eating enough because we just couldn't afford enough food.”

•    Healthcare: In fall 2021, 42% of Michigan households below the ALICE threshold with children had to miss, delay or skip their child’s preventive check-up in the last 12 months, compared to 22% of those above the ALICE threshold.

•    Tax Credit: More than 40% of Michigan households below the ALICE threshold with children were still not receiving the advance Child Tax Credit in the fall of 2021, for numerous reasons such as a parent not having filed a recent tax return or a child not having a Social Security number.

United for ALICE created the ALICE Children Data Dashboard which provides data on children living in financial hardship by geographic region, demographic categories, household characteristics and access to key resources.

Want more?

Read the full ALICE in Focus report. 

Explore the ALICE Children Data Dashboard.